How do we know that Luca Signorelli was buried in the Church of San Francesco in Cortona?

In October 1523 Signorelli revised his will for the last time.  The testament was drawn up in the artist’s home on modern-day Via di San Marco in Cortona and witnessed by a group of Franciscan friars.  The “Noble and outstanding painter, master Luca Signorelli of Cortona, of sound mind by the grace of God” was confined to his bed.  He commended his soul to the Virgin Mary and asked that he be buried in the church of San Francesco and in the tomb of his ancestors, where his wife had already been interred.  Shortly after he signed his last will and testament, Luca Signorelli died in Cortona.

The search so far

In recent years, renowned architect Angelo Molfetta, in collaboration with the European University of Rome, has developed an elaborate 3D survey of the Church of San Francesco in Cortona.  These studies have uncovered valuable information in situ and shed new light on Brother Elia, the Franciscan friar who in about 1250 designed and built the church in honor of his friend St. Francis of Assisi, as well as uncovered new information about the origins of the entire Franciscan movement.

The Friends of the Church of San Francesco, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to continuing these studies and examining the entire monumental complex of the church and convent using non-invasive methodologies such as laser scanners, depth surveys with thermo-cameras, georadar and other 21st-century technologies in order to prepare a definitive and complete architectural model of all the historical artifacts. The survey area will total approximately 150 square meters and should shed light on the location of the tomb of Luca Signorelli.

Architects in Cortona

Our team of architects, Angelo Molfetta and Michele Annesi, met at the site on January 23, 2020 and discussed options for moving forward to the next phase of research now that preliminary studies of the subterranean areas of the Church of San Francesco have been completed.  Georadar and laser scanning have revealed spaces meriting further exploration, possibly leading to the oratorio where Luca Signorelli sang to give praise to God when he was in Cortona.