Birthplace of Piero della Francesca — a genuine working town in eastern Tuscany with extraordinary art, local markets, and food that hasn't been dressed up for visitors.
Sansepolcro is a genuine surprise — a working town of around 15,000 people that contains some of the greatest Renaissance painting in Italy, without any of the crowds or commercialism of better-known art destinations. The Museo Civico houses Piero della Francesca's Resurrection, described by Aldous Huxley as the greatest painting in the world. Whether or not you share that view, standing in front of it is a genuine experience.
Piero della Francesca was born here around 1415, and the town has celebrated that fact quietly and intelligently for centuries. His house still stands in the historic centre. The museum also contains his Madonna della Misericordia and a handful of other works that would be blockbusters anywhere else — here, you often have the room almost to yourself.
Beyond the art, Sansepolcro is a thoroughly pleasant town to spend half a day in. The historic centre is elegant and well-preserved, built on a grid of Roman streets with a clarity that distinguishes it from the winding medieval hilltowns of the surrounding region. There are several good restaurants, a covered market, and a series of fine palazzi that reward aimless wandering.
The town is also the home of Buitoni — the pasta manufacturer — and there is a modest local museum dedicated to the history of food production in the Valtiberina. Food, craft and art together in a single afternoon: Sansepolcro rewards the curious traveller generously.
Museo Civico — Piero della Francesca's Resurrection and other masterpieces · Casa di Piero della Francesca · Historic centre on Roman grid · Food market (Tuesday and Saturday mornings) · Duomo di San Giovanni Evangelista · Local restaurants serving Valtiberina cuisine
The food of the Valtiberina is distinct from the better-known Tuscan cooking of Chianti or the Maremma. It is more austere, more dependent on mountain ingredients — porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, river trout, cured meats from small producers. The pasta dishes are rich and satisfying: hand-rolled pappardelle with wild boar ragù, tagliatelle with truffle butter, fresh egg pasta in broth.
The Tuesday and Saturday markets in Piazza Torre di Berta are genuine local affairs — vegetable growers from the valley, cheese producers, local bakers. Not staged for tourists. Worth arriving early if you want the best of the seasonal produce.
Sansepolcro is 25 minutes by car from Il Vigno. We suggest combining it with nearby Anghiari for a full day out — market and art in the morning, lunch in Anghiari, evening back at the farm for drinks and tapas at Il Vigno. Read about dining at Il Vigno.
Il Vigno is a peaceful adults-only agriturismo 25 minutes from Sansepolcro. Organic farm stay, farm-to-table dinners, pool and sauna. Book direct and save 10%.
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