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
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesSimone Bartolini - Sole e Simboli / Sun and Symbols: Gli Zodiaci della Basilica di San Miniato al Monte
More From Ancient Pages
-
Castor And Pollux: Dioscuri Brothers Immortalized In The Night Sky In Greek Beliefs
Featured Stories | Jan 24, 2024
-
Ancient Secrets Of The Ukrainian Stonehenge That Is Older Than The Giza Pyramids Of Egypt
Featured Stories | Jul 17, 2021
-
Archaeology Sheds Light On Why Some Ancient Societies Were More Unequal Than Others
Featured Stories | May 25, 2022
-
La Garma Cave Offers Evidence Of Over 300,000 Years Of Human Activity
Featured Stories | Dec 5, 2023
-
Why Did A Solar Eclipse Save George Davidson’s Life In Alaska?
Ancient History Facts | Aug 23, 2024
-
Why Is Europe Called Europe?
Ancient History Facts | Apr 21, 2016
-
Ymir – Primordial Norse Giant Whose Body Parts Formed The World
Featured Stories | Apr 5, 2018
-
Peace Of Callias – A Treaty That Ended The Greco-Persian Wars
Ancient History Facts | May 15, 2019
-
Mystery Of The Ancient Reptilian Gods Remains A Complex Subject – Memories Of The Past – Part 1
Featured Stories | Feb 6, 2022
-
Strange Ancient Abduction Case And Mysterious Journey To A Snake King’s Palace In A Parallel World
Featured Stories | May 1, 2021
-
Gods’ Creation Of Five Different Human Races – Ages Of Man On The Earth And The End Of The World
Featured Stories | Jan 26, 2018
-
Igaluk – Powerful Eskimo Moon God That Directs Natural Phenomena
Featured Stories | Feb 13, 2019
-
Mysterious Balochistan Sphinx Has An Ancient Story To Tell – But Is An Advanced Ancient Civilization Or Mother Nature Hiding Behind The Story?
Featured Stories | Feb 3, 2018
-
A Rare Find In Ancient Timorese Mud May Rewrite The History Of Human Settlement In Australasia
Featured Stories | May 28, 2024
-
Njord: Norse God Of The Seas And Seafarers And His Unhappy Marriage To Skadi
Featured Stories | Jul 10, 2018
-
Archaeological Evidence Ancient Egyptians Visited South America
Civilizations | Jan 7, 2020
-
Easter Island May Offer Proof Of An Alien Apocalypse
Archaeology | Jun 7, 2018
-
Aboriginal People Made Pottery And Navigated To Remote Islands Millennia Before Europeans Arrived
Featured Stories | Aug 19, 2024
-
Unexpected Danger Lurks Beneath Ancient Maya Cities – Mercury Pollution Discovered
Archaeology | Sep 23, 2022
-
Bizarre Ancient Capuchin Crypt ‘Decorated’ With The Bones Of 4,000 Monks
Ancient Traditions And Customs | Nov 22, 2018