En Route to Sansepolcro
Twenty-five kilometers (16 miles) from Arezzo on the SS73 toward Sansepolcro is the turnoff onto SS221 to Monterchi. This is home of Piero della Francesca's Madonna del Parto, which you can see in a museum built specially for it at Via della Reglia 1 (tel. 0575-70-713 or 0575-70-710). This psychologically probing fresco depicts the Virgin Mary 9 months pregnant with Jesus, shown to us by a pair of angels who hold back the intricately embroidered flaps of a tent. It's one of the earliest depictions of a pregnant Madonna, a subject exceedingly rare in Italian art (one in Prato predates it slightly). Mary here is heavy with child, with one eyelid drooping and a hand on her swollen belly. She emanates a solemnity that's at once human yet regal, reflecting the grave import of becoming the mother of the Savior.
The Madonna del Parto has come far. It started as a lowly chapel decoration for a church in the local cemetery. Much of the church was demolished in 1785, but the chapel and fresco remained and became the focus of pilgrimages by both art historians and pregnant women praying for an easy birth. It was moved a few years ago after extensive renovation to its current high-tech command bunker, though the sterile museum environment has robbed the work of some of its mysticism and charm. Monterchi was the birthplace of Piero's mother, and some believe she was buried in the cemetery and the fresco was painted as a memorial. It's open Tuesday through Sunday from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 7pm (until 6pm Oct-Mar). Admission is 3.10€ ($4.05) adults and 1.80€ ($2.35) students; children under 14 are free. If you're planning to visit Sansepolcro, the best way to get here is by bus. It's a 30-minute ride; there are six runs on weekdays and two on Sundays.
