Basilica di San Francesco

For most people the attraction of the Basilica di San Francesco boils down to one things: the fresco by Piero della Francesca. And to be fair it is an astonishing piece of work even if it does give you neck ache. His rendering of the History of the True Cross is vivid and alive in a remarkable way. Still the church does offer a few more attractions with other frescoes and creations scattered about. There's plenty of space and quite a lot to enjoy if you like Renaissance religious buildings. I can imagine that it gets busy in the holidays but out of season it was a delight.

Superb visit where I could admire frescoes in this Gothic Basilica with painting from the 14th century, houses one of the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance, the “Legend of the True Cross” by Piero della Francesca, the extraordinary cycle painted by the artist between 1452 and 1455 approximately in the Bacci Chapel.

Time to visit Piero della Francesca frescos formally limited to 30 mins, but, at least out of season, nobody checks if you leave on time. The rest of the church worth attention as well. You have to pay for ticket reservation no matter if you buy online or onsite. In October it was no problem to have a ticket for same day, only couple of time slots were fully sold out. A backpacks have to be left in a locker at the entrance. There is a toilet inside.

Because of frescoes which are the main attraction in this cathedral, are most important ones around main altar presenting The History of the True Cross from 1400s. In those times most people were illiterate and for them to understand Bible is to make it like a comic books today.....pictures that follow and tell a story. There is another story on the wall, fresco, that was amazing to me. Of archangel Gabriel.

Impressive historical church in the middle of the city center of Arezzo. You definitely will walk along this nice place and building when you pay a visit to Arezzo. We were here in September 2021, while it was not too crowded. We didn’t pay a visit to the inside because you can see the inside through a “door window”… .

A must for Piero della Francesca fans, people who don’t care much should leave space for those, who can appreciate. This is one of the most otherworldly early Renaissance art experiences and the 30 minute slot allotted to visitors will surely stay in their memories forever! Otherwise it’s a nice experience too. Friendly staff, good explanation aids provided. Well worth the effort!

Basilica of San Francesco is a Medieval church with the beautiful fresco cycle Legends of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca.

Frescos are very nice but there's a laxk of information explaining the scenes. For €9 information sign should be possible or the audio guide should have been included instead of asking an additional €4. When we came it was very quiet, but staff insisted that we reserved a timeslot 1.5 hours later, which was clearly unnecessary and felt like a way to create a hype.