Piero della Francesca dedicated himself to the frescoes of the cycle of the "Leggenda della Vera Croce" (Legend of the True Cross) from 1452 AC, taking the place of the defunct Bicci di Lorenzo, who had been charged by the family of Arezzo Bacci of the realisation of the decorations of the Main Chapel of the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo.

The representations are inspired by the "Legenda Aurea" of Jacopo da Varagine, a text dating back to the 13^th century after Christ, which stories of saints and martyrs, together with the pages dedicated to the main Christian celebrations, have provided a repertory of stories and iconographic materials which have inspired, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the writing of the sermons and poems as well as the realisation of the decorative displays of the churches (paintings, sculptures, miniatures, stories).
The works in the chapel continued up to after 1460 AC and led to the creation of an articulated cycle of paintings in twelve frescoes and organised on four superposed levels. The narrated history, starting with "The death of Adam" in the lunette of the right part, ends with "The Annunciation" on the central part, following an order that does not correspond with the one of the realisation of the paintings, executed from left to right and from the top towards the bottom.
The various painting techniques used on the wall paintings have been thrown into relief, together with the elements of damage such as the scaldings and the exfoliation of the paintings superficies and the "sulfatation" of the plasters, during the phase of preliminary diagnostic inquiry (1985/1990) that has preceded the deep restoration started in 1993.
The particular light and colour effects are due to the use, in addition to the "good fresh", of the organic binding agent and the unusual pigments, to the use of tempera and stout tempera with spreading out in phase of carbonate process and at dry.