Early Christian church and civic museum · 5th–13th century · Sovana, Tuscany

Church and Museum of San Mamiliano

The Church of San Mamiliano is a small but historically significant early Christian place of worship in Sovana, a medieval hilltop hamlet in the province of Grosseto in southern Tuscany. The site takes its dedication from Saint Mamilianus, a fourth-century bishop venerated in the Tyrrhenian region, and is associated with one of the most remarkable hoards of late-Roman gold coins discovered in modern Italian archaeology. The church now doubles as the Museo San Mamiliano, housing the 498 gold solidi found beneath its floor during excavations in 2004.

At a glance

Type: Early Christian church; civic archaeological museum
Period: 5th–13th century (construction); 2004 (major archaeological discovery)
Style: Romanesque with early Christian origins
Location: Sovana, Sorano, Province of Grosseto, Tuscany
Coordinates: 42.6571° N, 11.6465° E
Current use: Active church and archaeological museum

Overview

Sovana is one of Italy’s most evocative small towns (it holds the designation I Borghi più belli d’Italia), perched on a tuff ridge above the valley of the Lente river. The Church of San Mamiliano occupies a corner of the medieval street grid alongside Sovana’s cathedral and the Aldobrandesca fortress. Though modest in scale, the building acquired national and international attention in 2004 when archaeologists excavating under the nave floor uncovered a ceramic jar containing 498 gold solidi minted between the reigns of Honorius and Justinian I — a hoard spanning roughly 450–527 AD and one of the largest late-antique gold coin finds in Italian history.

History

Sovana was a significant Etruscan and later Roman settlement, visible today in the rock-cut Etruscan necropolises on the surrounding hillsides. The town rose to regional importance in the medieval period as the seat of the powerful Aldobrandeschi counts and, briefly, as the birthplace of Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand of Sovana, 1073–1085). The Church of San Mamiliano was established in the early Christian centuries in honour of Saint Mamilianus, bishop of Palermo, whose cult spread along Tyrrhenian sea routes. The church was rebuilt in Romanesque form during the high-medieval period and remained in use through subsequent centuries.

What you see

The exterior of the church is built in the local grey tuff stone typical of the Maremma, with a simple Romanesque façade and bell tower. The interior is a single-nave space with ancient stone columns and medieval masonry. A dedicated display case houses the extraordinary hoard of 498 gold solidi — ranging from coins of late-Roman emperors to early Byzantine rulers — presented with interpretive panels explaining their historical context and the circumstances of their discovery. The museum also holds finds from nearby Etruscan excavations, giving visitors a layered sense of the site’s pre-Christian past.

Cultural significance

The San Mamiliano gold coin hoard is one of the most important late-antique numismatic finds in Italian history, providing evidence of wealth circulation and coin use in the transitional period between the Western Roman Empire and early Byzantine rule in Tuscany. Sovana itself is a site of layered heritage — Etruscan necropolises, Roman remains, medieval architecture, and the birthplace of one of the most reforming popes in Church history — making the church museum a focal point for the region’s deep historical significance.

Practical information

Address: Via del Pretorio, Sovana, 58010 Sorano GR
Opening hours: Seasonal opening — check the Comuni Aperti or local tourist office for current schedule
Admission: Ticketed (combined tickets available with Etruscan necropolis sites)
Nearby sites: Sovana Cathedral (Santa Maria Assunta), Rocca Aldobrandesca, Etruscan necropolises (Tomba Ildebranda, Tomba dei Demoni Alati)

Getting there

Sovana is not served by rail. The most practical approach is by car from Grosseto (approximately 80 km south on the SS74 and local roads) or from Orvieto (approximately 60 km west). The nearest large towns with accommodation are Pitigliano (8 km) and Sorano (6 km), both connected to Sovana by local roads. RAMA bus services link Sorano with Grosseto on weekdays.

Sources & resources

Find it on the map

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In the heart of the ancient village of Sovana, during the restoration work carried out by the Superintendence for Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the provinces of Siena and Grosseto for the structural recovery of the Church of San Mamiliano and its transformation into a museum container, it was carried out in the last decade an archaeological investigation which revealed a site of great interest.



In 2004, during the excavation activities, in addition to the discovery of a thermal plant from the Roman era, the discovery of an extraordinary late-antique monetary treasure consisting of 498 gold coins that can be classified in the fifth century. AD, prompted the Sector Superintendencies and the Municipal Administration to modify the original exhibition project which involved the construction of the Etruscan Museum. In fact, provision was made for the museumization of the former church, leaving an important part of the excavation visible, and for the exhibition of archaeological finds referable to the Roman phase of the city, leaving a large exhibition space for the monetary treasure.



The small vase containing 498 gold coins (which can be classified chronologically between the beginning of the fifth century with the reign of Honorius and the last decades of the century - reign of Zeno) was found at a depth of over two meters compared to the current floor . The concealment of the object must have occurred in the last quarter of the fifth century, in a period of serious difficulties for the region following the invasions. The &quot;rediscovered treasure&quot; is made up of solid golds. The Solido was a gold coin introduced to replace the gold with the monetary reform of Constantine I in 324, remaining in use throughout the Byzantine Empire until the tenth century. The solid had a value of 1/72 of a Roman pound (about 4.5 grams); the weight and the percentage of gold in the solid remained fairly constant throughout the time in which they were minted. As fractions of the solid were emitted the semisse, with a value of half a solid, and the tremisse, which was worth the third part of a solid.



Characteristic of the solid was the COMOB legend, abbreviation of the title Comes Sacrarum Largitionum (count of the sacred donations), authority that controlled the finances of the empire starting from Constantine, while OB (obryzum) was to indicate the purity of gold. The types of solid remained fairly stable: on the obverse the bust of the emperor was represented, without any physiognomic connotation, while on the reverse was the image of Victory with the cross and the crucigerous globe, the personification of Constantinople, the emperor either standing or enthroned emperors. As for the mints, Rome and Ravenna stand out, followed by Milan, there is also a Gallic mint, that of Arles in the Narbonne area, little documented in the second half of the century at the time of G. Nepote and Romolo Augusto.



Sovana&#39;s closet represents an extraordinary discovery both for the quantity of pieces found and for the number of emperors represented.



The discovery of the treasure is therefore important not only for the numismatic value of the complex, which is part of the certainly not numerous series of storerooms of 5th century gold coins in Italy, but also because it constitutes so far the only archaeological evidence referable to the late ancient age, which we possess for Sovana.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/san-mamiliano-museum-church-of-san-mamiliano-l3062/

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San Mamiliano Museum – Church of San Mamiliano