After it had lain unseen for possibly 700 years, a crypt was rediscovered under the grand pavimento (floor) of the Duomo during routine excavation work and was opened to the public in 2003. An unknown master executed the breathtaking frescoes here sometime between 1270-80; they retain their original colors and pack an emotional punch even with sporadic damage. The Deposition/Lamentation gives strong evidence that the Sienese school could paint emotion just as well as the Florentine school—and did it some 20 years before Giotto. Guided tours in English take place more or less every half hour and are limited to no more than 35 persons.
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