Earthquake Damage

After several seismic tremors in Umbria and the Marche in the preceding days, the strongest earthquake occurred on the morning of September 26, 1997. The earthquake not only tragically killed four people, but also caused severe damage and destruction in the upper church of San Francesco. Serious static damage was found in the walls and the vault. The morning earthquake destroyed around 200 square metres of vault frescoes. In the front bay arch above the entrance, four of the eight pairs of saints by Giotto were affected, and in the adjoining vault of the Doctors of the Church, the field containing St. Hieronymus, also a work by Giotto and his workers, collapsed and left a huge hole in the first bay. In contrast, the vault of the second bay and the vault of the third bay, containing the large deesis portraying Christ as the redeemer together with the advocates Mary and John on either side of St. Francis, remained intact. However, the western part of the fourth bay with a starry sky and the adjoining evangelists’ vault with frescoes by Cimabue above the cross-vault collapsed. The field containing St. Matthew was almost completely destroyed.