Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo

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The Basilica of San Francesco is a late Medieval church in

San Francesco is the second church built by the Franciscans in Arezzo, an earlier church being located outside the city walls and destroyed during the Occupation. The building work on San Francesco was begun around 1290. The decoration of its façade was never realised.

The interior presents as a large church of simple unadorned design with a wide single nave, flanked on the left side by some chapels and, on the right side, by some niches. The tall groin-vaulted chancel is of square plan.^[1]

Beneath the church is a smaller Chiesa inferiore or "Lower Church" as at Assisi, with a nave and two aisles, now used as exhibition hall.

Decoration

At the chancel entrance is suspended a very large painted rood crucifix by one Master of San Francesco, a contemporary of

The walls and particularly the niches on the right have some fresco decoration, which dates in part to the 14th century.

The Cappella Maggiore, (Major Chapel or chancel) houses one of the masterworks of Italian

Piero della Francesca was called in to complete the work. According to a document, he did so in two stages, the works halted during 1458-1459, and completed in 1466.[2]

The frescoes occupy three levels on the side walls and the eastern wall, surrounding a large window. The theme of the fresco cycle is the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine. Piero della Francesca did not follow a chronological order, preferring to concentrate himself in the creation of symmetrical correspondences between the various scenes.

The episodes depicted are the following:

• Archangel Michael
• The Adoration of the Holy Wood; the Queen of Sheba kneels in front of the wood from which the cross will be made and meets King Solomon
• The burial of the Holy Cross
• The Annunciation
• Constantine
  's dream
• Constantine's victory over
  battle of Milvian Bridge
• The Torture of a Jew named Judah in the pit
• The Discovery and Proof of the True Cross
• The Battle of
  Khosrau
  ; defeat and decapitation of the latter
• The Restitution of the Cross; the return of the Cross to Jerusalem
• The Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah

On the walls of the chancel arch are frescoes which depict: an angel,

See also

• Piero della Francesca
• True Cross
• The History of the True Cross
• St. Helen
• Arezzo
• Benedetto Sinigardi

Notes

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