Monterchi in Tuscany

The small centre of Monterchi, in the province of Arezzo, is the hometown of Piero della Francesca's mother. He was a universally renowned Renaissance artist. His "Madonna del Prato",, a painting carried out around 1459 and restored in 1992 and which he left as a heritage, is a tribute to this small community.

This work encloses the peculiar elements of Piero della Francesca's style, since, even if the Virgin Mary is in an advanced state of pregnancy, the painter can fulfil his ideal research of beauty through a very unusual image at the time. All this results from her very peculiar position (her gown opens slightly and uncovers her womb) and stance (her hand protects her womb). This work is kept in the small museum dedicated to it in the chief town and can be seen, too.
Without any doubt, the history of Monterchi that was called "Mons Herculis", namely the "Mount of Hercules", dates to the Early Middle Ages, but the village was mentioned only since 1095, when it appeared in act of donation of this feud to the marquises of the Monte Santa Maria. In 1194, they agreed upon ceding in acomandita to Arezzo all the parish of Sant'Antino in Val Tiberina, to which also Monterchi belonged.
Yet, in the XIV century, the bishop of Arezzo Guido Tarlati definitively annexed Monterchi and its territory. The Tarlati were its rulers until 1440 when after failure of their alliance with the Visconti from Milan and the defeat of Anghiari the town was given to the Republic of Florence. The work by Piero della Francesca, the most important figure in Renaissance, dates to this period. Part of the town was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1917.