According to legend, Sansepolcro was founded by two pilgrim saints, Arcanus and Aegidius, who, returning from the Holy Land, stopped in this valley to build a small chapel to house the relics from Christ's tomb. Over the years, the cathedral dedicated to St. John and the place called “del Santo Sepilcro” (of the Holy Sepulchre) were built around this chapel.
The Cathedral of Sansepolcro (also known as the Co-Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist) is the oldest and most important Catholic church in the city of Sansepolcro, formerly the cathedral of the diocese of the same name until 1986, when it became the co-cathedral of the new Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona -Sansepolcro became. It is an Italian national monument.
In 2012, the thousandth anniversary of the basilica's founding was celebrated, using the oldest known documents from 1012.
On Sunday, May 13, 2012, on the occasion of the thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI visited. the cathedral and paused in prayer before the icon of the Holy Face.
To commemorate the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. On May 12, 2013, two marble inscriptions were placed, one in the Chapel of the Holy Face in the Cathedral Basilica, on the right wall and the other on the facade of the Bishop's Palace overlooking Piazza Torre di Berta.
Source: partly from Wikipedia