Sansepolcro @ History and Culture in the Tuscan Tiber Valley
Sansepolcro, once called Borgo Sansepolcro, is the greatest town in the Tuscan Tiber valley. Its first nucleus consisted in a monastic community that two pilgrims returning from the Holy Land founded in the 10th century. Historical documents testify the existence of an abbey dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre and the Four Evangelists in 1012. The town developed thanks to the possibility of organising a weekly market and an annual fair that Emperor Conrad II granted in 1038.
In 1301 Borgo Sansepolcro passed in the hands of Uggione della Faggiola and then in that of the Tarlatis. Involved in the Guelphs-Ghibelline struggle, in 1370 the town was ceaded to the Malatestas, under which it reached the peak of its glory.
In 1441 Pope Eugene IV sold the town to Florence. The fortification of Sansepolcro was part of a big project for the defence of the Florentine borders against Siena. Under the Medicis Sansepolcro began to decline.
San Sepolcro
In the past, a Medieval tower stood in
piazza della Torre di Berta. The tower was destroyed during World War II. The most important monuments open onto via Matteotti, Sansepolcro main street: the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral, the
Palazzo delle Laudi, dating back to the 16th-17th centuries, and the
Palazzo Pretorio.
The Civic Museum is situated in a 14th-century building in via Matteotti and houses paintings by Piero della Francesca, Luca Signorelli and Pontormo.
The church of San Francesco (13th century) and the church of Madonna delle Grazie (16th century) are worth a visit.
Sansepolcro has been Piero della Francesca`s birthplace. Many important cultural and folkloric events take place in Sasepolcro, the most important being the
Palio della Balestra (Crossbow Tournament) and the
International Lace Biennial.
