Our Story and This Place

We are Italians and Americans dedicated to supporting the ongoing restoration of the Church of San Francesco in the historic heart of Cortona near Florence, Siena and Arezzo in Tuscany.  Perugia, Orvieto, Assisi and Rome are also within easy driving distance.

The Church of San Francesco and its environs are of astonishing importance historically, architecturally, artistically and culturally. This place celebrates not only St. Francis of Assisi and his miraculous peregrinations in the thirteenth century but also Luca Signorelli, one of the most influential artists of the Italian Renaissance, who was buried here in 1523. This church contains priceless works of art and awe-inspiring relics.

In short, this place is witness to spectacular medieval and Renaissance history in a gorgeous hill town in Tuscany that is well worth the visit.

We are studying the Church of San Francesco in Cortona and its crypt using non-invasive 21st century technologies such as ground penetrating georadar and laser scanning in an effort to discover the tomb of Luca Signorelli and learn more about the history and architecture of this magnificent building.

What is so important about the Church of San Francesco in Cortona?

As everyone knows, St. Francis of Assisi was of tremendous significance in the medieval church.  Not only did he tame wild animals and care for the poor but he also traveled — in sandals — to the Middle East in an effort to make peace during the Crusades. He is the current Pope Francis’s namesake.

Completed in 1247 A.D., the Church of San Francesco in Cortona was built in honor of St. Francis of Assisi by his friend Brother Elia Coppi (c. 1180-1253), a native of Cortona who co-founded the Franciscan Order.  Brother Elia was buried in the Church of San Francesco.   His remains have been exhumed and scientifically confirmed.

One of the heroes of the Italian Renaissance and another native of Cortona, Luca Signorelli (c. 1450-1523), is also buried in the Church of San Francesco. Signorelli’s influence on Michelangelo and other immortal artists is well-recognized by art historians and by anyone who compares Signorelli’s Last Judgment frescoes in Orvieto Cathedral with Michelangelo’s Last Judgment masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel.