Luca Signorelli is one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. He was born in Cortona in about 1450, worked as a young artist in Tuscany and Umbria and went on to paint frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and the Cathedral at Orvieto. A student of Piero della Francesca, he went on to influence Raphael, Perugino and, last but not least, the divine Michelangelo.
He was buried in the Church of San Francesco in Cortona in 1523.
The Church of San Francesco was built in honor of St. Francis of Assisi in 1250 by his friend Brother Elia, another native of Cortona.
We are studying the Church of San Francesco and its crypt using non-invasive 21st-century technologies in an effort fo discover the tomb of Luca Signorelli and learn more about the history and architecture of this magnificent building.
This search for Signorelli is important not only in the history of Renaissance art but also in the history of Cortona and Franciscan architecture. Using 21st century technologies, we are in a position to make unprecedented discoveries and advance the application of science to art and architecture.
