Every 3rd of October, many Tuscans go to church and burn a candle for the Blessed Angelo of Borgo di San Sepolcro;

Angelo Scarpetti entered the Augustinian Order around 1254. He spent some time in England where he preached and founded several Augustinian friaries. On one occasion Angelo found it necessary to reprimand a man with a bad reputation, the man became angry and attempted to strike Angelo. The moment he raised his arm against Angelo, it suddenly became paralyzed. It took Angelo's prayers to restore motion to the frozen arm. Another story tells us about a falsely accused man sentenced to death, which appealed to Angelo and requested his prayers. After the hanging the members of the confraternity went to retrieve the condemned man's body and were stunned to find the man alive. He explained that as he hung on the rope he experienced a vision of Angelo upholding him, keeping the rope from killing him. Angelo was characterized by his exceptional humility and childlike innocence. He died around the year 1306 and it is said that his body remained incorrupt for many centuries.

A story like this one, from the archives of the Augustinians, shows us something about the atmosphere to be found in many quaint Tuscan towns. A sense of religious consciousness and mysticism is in every breath of air.

Sansepolcro is such a town, situated in the centre of Italy, an area first populated by the Etruscans and after by the Romans. The city is situated in the high valley of the Tiber, at the foot of the Apennines, the last edge of Tuscan land between the regions of Emilia Romagna, Marche and Umbria. The Etruscans had their principle cities in Perugia, Cortona and Arezzo (all towns within a 60 kilometre radius of Sansepolcro) and they used the Valtiberina (Valley of the River Tiber) for their cattle and crops, in this time (1000 B.C.) the valley was covered in walnut trees. Toward 700 B.C. the might of the Roman army destroyed all of the Etruscan empire and a group of Roman centurions chose the site where Sansepolcro is today, to built a camp, called Birtugia. A number of other Romans, including Pliny the Younger, build their summer villas in the Valtiberina.

The name Sansepolcro is derived from Santo Sepolcro

Legend says the town of Sansepolcro was founded by two pilgrims, Egidio and Arcano returning from the Holy Land (around 1000 A.D.) with a fragment of Christ's tomb and they chose this area to build a site for a religious community and a shrine for the holy relict. The name Sansepolcro is derived from Santo Sepolcro meaning "holy sepulchre" or "holy grave". Sansepolcro is essentially a renaissance town and it was during this period (13th and 14th century) the town flourished. The town had 26 noble families who all had stone towers attached to their elegant palazzos. After the powerful Medici family took over the control of Sansepolcro, they made the nobles shorten their towers to the height of the adjoining palazzos as a sign of subservience. These towers can still be seen as you walk through the city. The only tower left standing at its original height was in the centre of Piazza Torre di Berta. In fact, the square was named after its tower, the Berta tower. This tower, having survived the Medici, was blown up by the retreating German army in 1944.

The town has about eighteen churches and monasteries, mostly build in the 13th and 14th century. Most of them are very well preserved and full with beautiful artefacts. The famous son of Sansepolcro is Piero della Francesca and four of his works can be found in the town museum. Sansepolcro's historic centre is a fascinating example of Renaissance building; the splendid Medici Fortress of Giuliano of San Gallo, the many palazzos of noble families and the surrounding city walls, all bear witness to those times. Don?t forget to visit the Gothic church of San Francesco and the Romanesque cathedral, both with their characteristic bell-towers. Other important churches are the "Servi di Maria", the "Madonna delle Grazie" and the "San Rocco" all adorned with beautiful works of art. In the church of "San Lorenzo? we can find the famous "Deposition" by Rosso Fiorentino.

After the glories of the Renaissance, Sansepolcro went into decline. Till the second half of the 19th century, the main sources of income for this area were agriculture products, like tobacco. In 1827 The Buitoni family started the now famous pasta company which was extremely successful. Until then, all Italian families made their own pasta and now Buitoni offered them the first ready-made pasta. The company was family-owned until the mid-1980's and it is now part of Nestle. It is still the largest employer in Sansepolcro. You can visit the Casa Buitoni where new products are tested; workshops are given etc.

For more information visit:

• Buitoni

• Sansepolcro
  
Sansepolcro has a population of around 16000 inhabitants, which gives a density of around 172 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its coordinates are 43'34'N 12' and that's about 25 kilometres east from the town of Arezzo.