Sansepolcro: Art, History and Nature

Sansepolcro offers a range of starting points for planning your trip: art and architecture, the history of the relationship between people and plants, and connections with nature around the Alpe della Luna Nature Reserve. A section of the Via di Francesco also runs between the town centre and the district of Gricignano. When choosing your destination, you can focus on the themes that interest you most.

Museums, Stained Glass and the History of Herbs

The Museo Bernardini-Fatti della Vetrata Antica was Italy’s first systematic attempt to create a museum dedicated to the art of stained glass. It is housed in the Church of San Giovanni Battista. The first records of the church date back to 1126. Stained glass and church history thus offer two different cultural and historical perspectives on Sansepolcro.

At the Aboca Museum, the “Erbe e Salute nei secoli” (Herbs and Health Through the Centuries) tour highlights the therapeutic effects of herbs and tells the story of the millennia-old relationship between people and plants. Aboca’s interactive tour presents the company’s history, values and daily work, as well as its ideas about health and life. Its themes range from organic growing areas, laboratories and production facilities to cultural events, editorial projects and scientific research. This gives you the opportunity to explore both herbs and their significance, as well as the company’s different areas of work and focus.

Architecture and Works of Art

The Casa di Piero della Francesca is a fine example of 15th-century architecture. The Fondazione Piero della Francesca is housed in the building. Here, you can connect an architectural point of interest with the memory of Piero della Francesca, without treating the two aspects as one and the same.

The cathedral’s history can also be placed in context: the present-day cathedral was created through alterations made between 1301 and 1350 to the original 11th-century Camaldolese abbey, which was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. The work “La Resurrezione” is in the Sala dei Conservatori at the Museo Civico di Sansepolcro. These sites appeal to different interests: the architectural history of a religious building, 15th-century architecture and a work of art in a specific museum hall.

Natural Landscapes and a Route Section

The Alpe della Luna Nature Reserve extends across the municipalities of Pieve Santo Stefano, Badia Tedalda, Sansepolcro and Sestino. Sansepolcro is therefore one of the four municipalities that are part of the area. Fallow deer, red deer, roe deer, sparrowhawks and golden eagles are found in the reserve’s forests.

A section of the Via di Francesco runs between Sansepolcro town centre and Gricignano. If you would like to include routes in your trip planning, you can consider this section as a point of interest in its own right. This information refers to the section between these two places; it does not describe the entire route of the Via di Francesco.

Getting There and Choosing Accommodation

The arrival station is Arezzo, 37 km from Sansepolcro. You can continue to Sansepolcro by bus with Autolinee Toscane or Baschetti. Check the timetables for these bus services before travelling. This lets you match your travel plans with the cultural and natural highlights that matter to you during your stay, and then search for hotels for your trip to Sansepolcro.

Discover more destinations: Civitella In Val Di Chiana, Montevarchi, Duddova, Caprese Michelangelo, Pian Di Sco, Chiusi Della Verna, Falcigiano, Campoluci.

Return to the main travel overview: Arezzo.