Legend of the True Cross - Florence, Italy - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

The Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence may not be as famous as the Duomo, but it is the largest Franciscan church in the world and is home to the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and many other notables. It also contains some fabulous artwork by Donatello, Andrea and Luca della Robbia, Giotto and his pupils, among several others. To celebrate the church’s 700th anniversary in 1995, the small republic of San Marino issued a pair of commemorative postage stamps featuring both exterior and interior details.

Toward the end of the 14th century (1385-1387), an ambitious fresco cycle was added to the walls of the chancel chapel by Florentine artist, Agnolo Gaddi. The subject, ‘Legend of the True Cross,’ was taken from the popular medieval book ‘Golden Legend’ by Jacobus de Voragine. In this account, the cross upon which Christ was crucified, was made from a tree growing over the grave of Adam, planted by his son Seth from a branch of the Tree of Life. The story recounts how wood from this tree was made into a bridge, buried but rose in the pool of Bethesda, was made into the cross, was buried again and recovered, captured by the Persians and finally returned to Jerusalem. The particular panel shown on the stamp shows the three crosses being recovered from Mt. Calvary and tested to determine which was the true cross. This was accomplished by passing the crosses over a sick woman who recovered when the true cross passed.

I suppose that the Legend of the True Cross is an appropriate choice for a church named Holy Cross. There are other churches in Italy that have similar, if not more famous depictions of this legend, but this one by Agnolo Gaddi was the first. The centuries-old artwork has recently been restored to its original splendor after a seven-year effort in 2013.

Stamp Issuing Country: San Marino Date of Issue: 5-May-1995 Denomination: 1200 l Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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