The building was born as a celebratory temple of the Malatesta family, then it became the city’s Cathedral. The standards of a regular Christian church have not been respected; it lacks religious references but flourishes with pagan saint representations.
Only certain refined details, though certainly placed in secondary positions, catch the eye: a little cross, the only one present on the outside of the monument, can be glimpsed above the main entrance, but is hidden by the larger emblem of the bishop; inside the church, the only saint portrayed by Piero della Francesca is St. Sigismund, in honor of the commissioner Sigismondo Malatesta.
To spot the crucifix by Giotto, also hidden from the eye, you must walk behind the main altar: there rests the masterpiece painted in gold and tempera in the year 1300. If you look hard, it’s a church indeed.
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