Piero della Francesca's pregnant Madonna in a small museum
In the little village of Monterchi, near Sansepolcro, Piero della Francesca painted around 1460 one of the most unusual images in Christian art: the Madonna del Parto, a pregnant Virgin Mary in a simple blue dress, which opens over her belly while she rests a hand on it. Two symmetrical angels draw back the curtains of a pavilion to reveal her, as if on a stage.
The fresco was painted for a country chapel, perhaps in memory of Piero's mother, who came from Monterchi. For centuries local women came to pray before it for a good birth. Detached from the wall during restoration, it is now displayed in its own small museum in the village, a former school, where a multimedia presentation explains the restoration and the techniques of the painting.
Tip: pregnant women have free entry to the museum, a gesture that honours the old tradition.
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