Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pieve

Top choice in Arezzo


This 12th-century church – Arezzo's oldest – has an exotic Romanesque arcaded facade adorned with carved columns, each individually decorated. Above the central doorway are 13th-century carved reliefs called Cyclo dei Mesi representing each month of the year. The plain interior's highlight – being restored at the RICERCA Restoration Studio at the time of research – is Pietro Lorenzetti's polyptych Madonna and Saints (1320–24). Below the altar is a 14th-century silver bust reliquary of the city's patron saint, San Donato.

Other treasures include a 13th-century crucifix by Margarito di Arezzo (left of the altar by the door to the sacristy) and a fresco on a column (across from the sacristy door) of Sts Francesco and Domenico by Andrea di Nerio (1331–69).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Arezzo attractions

1. Casa Museo di Ivan Bruschi

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Ivan Bruschi, a wealthy antiques dealer, restored 13th-century Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo in the 1960s. After his death, the palazzo (mansion) became…

2. Palazzo della Fraternità dei Laici

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Construction of this palazzo commenced in 1375 in the Gothic style and finished in the late 1550s after the onset of the Renaissance. Delve into its small…

3. Piazza Grande

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This lopsided and steeply sloping piazza is overlooked at its upper end by the porticoes of the Palazzo delle Logge Vasariane, completed in 1573…

4. RICERCA Restoration Studio

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Art lovers will adore visiting this conservation laboratory. The base of Art Angels Arezzo (www.artangelsarezzo.org), a group of professional art…

6. Cappella Bacci

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This chapel, in the apse of 14th-century Basilica di San Francesco, safeguards one of Italian art's greatest works: Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle…

8. Galleria Comunale D'Arte Contemporanea

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Showcasing the work of contemporary visual artists – many based in the Arezzo region – this multifloor art gallery in a building next to the Basilica di…