Front Bay Arch

On the bay arch between the interior wall of the facade and the vault of the Doctors of the Church in the first bay, it is believed that Giotto di Bondone (1266-1336), the most significant gothic painter in Italy, and the artists of his workshop painted the frescoes of full-figure pairs of saints in fake niches flanked by half-figure saints in quatrefoil frames on decorated frescoes. On the lower northern part of the arch, the series starts with the portrayal of an unidentified saint and a holy king, next to which is the fresco of St. Agapetus and St. Lawrence. Above this are the portrayals of St. Anthony of Padua and St. Benedict, as well as the town saints St. Francis and St. Clare, which were destroyed by the earthquake. The same applies for the upper pendants on the southern side: It was possible to restore St. Victorinus with St. Rufinus, both town saints of Assisi, as well as Saint Peter Martyr and Saint Dominic after the devastating earthquake and remount them piece for piece. Below them are the pairs of two canonized deacons, of which the right-hand one is probably St. Stephan, and some female martyred saints. In addition, some of the frescoes of the surrounding friezes were damaged by the seismic tremors. In total, the restorers were able to assign around 12,000 fragments to the front bay arch in the course of the restoration work.