On the occasion of works for the urban redevelopment of Piazza San Francesco in Arezzo, between 1986 and 1989 a portion of the ancient city was brought to light, now visible in the space created under the churchyard, which represents an extraordinary snapshot of the multilayered urban reality of Arretium through the Etruscan and Roman phases up to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and post-Renaissance periods. After an initial occupation dating back to the archaic Etruscan period, in the Hellenistic age a district was established, of which remain a stretch of street paved with river cobbles, some wall structures and a stone-lined well; a rich domus dating to the second half of the 1st century BC developed on two terraces and decorated with floor mosaics, painted plasters and precious marbles, was probably violently destroyed, as evidenced by burned roof beams collapsed on the floors, and abandoned at the end of the 2nd century AD. At least a portion of the building was reoccupied in late antiquity (4th – early 5th century AD), as seems to be confirmed by the extraordinary discovery, in the corner of one of the rooms of the lower terrace, of a mensa vasorum (cupboard) partly made of wood and partly of reused stones and bricks, containing fire, preservation and tableware vessels. Above levels of collapse of the upper structures, accumulation and abandonment, the excavation revealed a series of structures related to the construction site of the church of San Francesco (early 14th century), lime kilns and bell furnaces, while the Renaissance and post-Renaissance phases include the square’s well (used after its closure in 1639 as a support for the Fossombroni statue), a long arcade structure possibly related to one of the houses overlooking the original square, and brick box tombs in the cemetery area present in the churchyard.
Information about the Archaeological Area of the Sub-Churchyard of San Francesco
San Francesco,
Arezzo (Arezzo)
Source: MIBACT
