Sansepolcro Cathedral

According to tradition, the foundations of the cathedral dates to the 9th century, when two natives of the region who had been pilgrims in the Holy Land, Arcanus and Giles (or Egidio and Arcano), returned and settled on the site.

The monastic chapter soon (13th century) tore down the original chapel and built a large Romanesque-style church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist (the patron saint of the city) to serve its spiritual needs.

[3] The episcopal palace for the diocese stands on the site of the former monastery and its cloister, still with 15th-century frescoes depicting the life of St. Benedict, as well as the tomb of the artist Piero della Francesca, a native of the city.

Several frescoes by the Riminese school and by Bartolomeo della Gatta (14th-15th centuries) become visible again, and a new chapel, called Cappella del Volto Santo, was added to house the so-called "Holy Face" icon, previously located at the altar.

Originally the church should receive a more elongated Gothic polygonal apse, replaced by a bell tower influenced by Umbrian similar structures.