S. Giovanni in fiore lies on the S.S. 107, the gateway to the Sila, and is the most important inhabited centre of the Sila Plateau  with active handicraft, commercial and tourism initiatives  and has illustrious origin being the site where Gioacchino Da Fiore established his monastery in 1189 around which  the village gradually developed. The monastery and the cloister in addition to the abbey, founded in 1185, have been almost completely restored. In the crypt there are the remains of the Abbot, the remains of the cells, and a fine 17th  century wooden choir stall. Three sculptured  17th century stone portals are incorporated into the main church which contains a fine baptismal font of the same period. There is a Museum in the left nave of the Florence Abbey covering an area of over 1,ooo m2  with numerous sections displaying an interesting series of local utensil and an impressive photographic collection of S. Giovanni in Fiore and the Sila.