Florence unveils restored frescoes by Giotto to mark 800th anniversary of St Francis

The useful part

Santa Croce's 14th-century cycle on the life of St Francis returns to former glory as Florence marks the saint's 800th anniversary. Florence's Basilica of Santa Croce has unveiled the restored fresco cycle by Giotto depicting the life of St Francis of Assisi, following four years of conservation work in the church's Bardi Chapel. The restoration, presented to the public on 11 September, was carried out by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence's celebrated restoration workshop, on behalf of the Opera di Santa Croce, which manages the basilica.

How it works

• The Bardi Chapel cycle, executed in his mature years and involving several assistants working under his direction, went on to influence generations of artists.

What to take from it

A troubled history The frescoes have had a difficult conservation history.

Details worth keeping

The unveiling coincides with the eighth centenary of Francis's death.Giotto, regarded as the father of the Italian Renaissance, was born around 1267 near Florence and was celebrated in his lifetime for bringing weighty, three-dimensional figures and human expressiveness to painting in a way not previously seen. They were whitewashed over at some point before 1730 and rediscovered only in 1851, when restorer Gaetano Bianchi removed the lime coating — a process that left scratches and losses in the paint layer, and which he then filled in us...