Is There A Hidden Ancient Message Inside San Miniato Al Monte Basilica?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Standing atop one of the highest points in Florence, Italy, the San Miniato al Monte Basilica offers a magnificent panorama over the city.

Dedicated to St. Minius, an early Christian martyr in Florence, the church has been described as one of the most exemplary Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic churches in Italy.

Inside the San Miniato Al Monte church, we find Christian symbols mixed with Pagan motifs; some think a secret message is hidden.

The floor is covered with various geometrical marble mosaics and figures of the Signs of the Zodiac that some think represent the twelve Apostles. Still, there is also another intriguing theory suggesting what's really behind the Zodiac..

The Zodiac inside San Miniato Al Monte Basilica - Credit: The Museums of Florence

The beautiful Zodiac is originally a pagan motif made by unknown stonemasons led by a man named Ioseph (Joseph). His name can be found on the inscription.

According to some legends, these stonemasons were members of a secret Pagan society who were followers of ancient mystical Egyptian, Jewish, and Greek traditions. These members knew astronomy and alchemy.

The Zodiac inscription is written in Latin and Greek, and here we find the names of the planets, such as Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and the Sun and the Moon. The inscription describes the position of the planets in Taurus, which is the second sign of the Zodiac, symbolized by the Bull on the day the inscription was written.

San Miniato Al Monte Basilica - Credit: Wikipedia

Is a secret, ancient message hidden inside the Zodiac that these stonemasons wanted to convey? Was the message directed only to those enlightened and able to decode it?

Some scholars think the Zodiac in the San Miniato al Monte basilica has a symbolic meaning and represents the Stonemasons' hope and belief that the history of the world would change for the better.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), a great Italian theologian, predicted Doomsday and the arrival of the Antichrist.

Joachim of Fiore was a very influential and respected person. His followers are today called Joachimites.

Joachim of Fiore - Credit: Wikipedia

His popularity was enormous in the period, and some sources hold that King Richard the Lionheart wished to meet him to discuss the Book of Revelation before leaving for the Third Crusade of 1189–1192.

Many people believed in his Doomsday prophecy, leading to social instability in Italy. People were worried, and some were frightened that the world's end was approaching.

The question is – what did the unknown stonemasons think about Joachim of Fiore's Doomsday prediction?

San Miniato Al Monte Basilica - Credit: Wikipedia

One possibility is that they did not share his beliefs and deliberately hid a secret message inside the Zodiac. It was a message stating that this was not the end of the world but rather the beginning of something new that neither time nor death could destroy.

The stonemasons were pagans who could not reveal their beliefs in a Christian church, so they hid the message using secret symbols and signs.

Whatever the truth, San Miniato Al Monte Basilica is truly magnificent, and the interior is highly unusual.

The crypt is the oldest part of the church, and the high altar supposedly contains the bones of St Minias himself.

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

Updated on April 9, 2023

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