Basilica of St. Francis

The Basilica of St. Francis in the heart of Arezzo, simple and unadorned on the outside

reveals its artistic treasures within. What the famous painter Piero della Francesca created here more than 500 years ago is now of interest not only to art lovers.

The unfinished facade of the brick building gives little hint of what awaits visitors inside: the single-nave church, a typical example of a place of worship belonging to a mendicant order, houses several works of art. The most notable of these are located in the main choir area. Colorful frescoes adorn the walls around the altar and the painted wooden cross above it.

A masterpiece preserved over time

The paintings depict the legend of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Beginning with the planting of the tree on Adam’s tomb, the frescoes illustrate key stages in the history of the wood and the subsequent cross. The source material is a significant text by the Dominican friar Jacopo da Varagine, which has been handed down since the Middle Ages. The individual scenes do not follow a chronological order or a narrative sequence. The ten panels of the fresco cycle are very well preserved, especially considering that they were painted in the 15th century. For this reason, it is not surprising that it is one of the most important and famous fresco cycles of the Renaissance.