An interesting case of accidental preservation, this time courtesy of an
earthquake.

>>From La Repubblica, July 17: During restoration work on the
earthquake-damaged Porziuncola (St. Francis's tiny cabin on the plane
between Assisi and Perugia enshrined in 16th-century Alessi basilica) a
large fresco of the 'Crucifixion with St. Francis standing at the Foot
of
the Cross' was discovered above the apse.  Completely undocumented, the
fresco is thought to have been painted by Perugino about 1486.  The
quake
apparently shook the building enough to knock off the candle wax and
dust
that had obscured it.  The discovery was made by the restorers, Iolanda
Tizi and Bernardino Sperandio, while they were on the scaffolding.  The
experience has been called an "epifania del terremoto."  The present
triangular form of the fresco apparently results from an earlier
restoration; originally the format was a long rectangle accompanied by
intarsia in white and red stone.<<
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][<en Follett
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