The Frescoes of the Legend of the True Cross

As the eternal guardian of the city of Arezzo and treasure trove of masterpieces, the Basilica of Saint Francis venerates the genius of Piero della Francesca in the cycle of frescoes known as the Legend of the True Cross. 

In 1452, this artist from Arezzo began working and in fourteen years he produced the most modern and most perspectively precise fresco series of the 15th century in Italy.

The story of the True Cross is depicted on three levels and the constant protagonist depicted in all the short scenes and the battlefield scene is the wood from the oldest tree on earth. It is said that the blood of Christ flowed through the veins of that tree, thus making it the tree that gives back life. Through his work, Piero della Francesca gives us this view of the history of Christianity and the history of art where the profile of Arezzo also appears in the background, with the facade of the Cathedral well in view”;

In one corner of the fresco series, the artist includes an outline of Arezzo, disguised as the holy city of Jerusalem and with the facade of the Cathedral clearly visible. 

You can get lost in a journey through time just by looking over the marvelous fresco series which include scenes such as the the death of Adam, the birth of the sacred tree of life and the creation of the cross, which was lost and later found again during the Crusades.