Duomo di Sansepolcro (Concattedrale di San Giovanni Evangelista)

Sansepolcro's Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist developed from the abbey around which the medieval town grew. Its architecture and artworks connect that origin with later diocesan history and Renaissance patronage.

Why it matters

Foundation tradition associates the abbey with the pilgrims Egidio and Arcano and relics brought from Jerusalem. The documented institution became an important centre for the settlement, later acquiring cathedral rank and eventually the status of co-cathedral.

What to notice

The venerated wooden Volto Santo is a central devotional work. Perugino's Ascension and Santi di Tito's Incredulity of Saint Thomas add Renaissance painting, while other surviving decoration reflects the building's long history of alteration. Piero della Francesca's burial in the church gives it a further connection with the town's artistic identity.

Context and history

The abbey is documented in 1012, with papal and imperial privileges following in 1013. Major rebuilding took place in the early fourteenth century. Cathedral status followed the creation of the diocese under Leo X. Restoration in 1934–1943 removed later additions and recovered earlier decoration. The union of the dioceses of Arezzo, Cortona and Sansepolcro in 1986 made the church a co-cathedral.