Borgo Sansepolcro is an out-of-the-way Tuscan city. But, as this video sets out to explain, it boasts one of the most beautiful paintings in the world, so it is well worth the journey. The video begins with some passages from a 1925 essay by Aldous Huxley: “The Best Picture.” We have translated the Italian translation back into English, for learning purposes, but you can find the original English version here.

The host describes the fascinating story of a British army captain who, during World War II, happened to have read Aldous Huxley's words (quoted in the previous segment), and remembered them just in time.

Restoring the Resurrection was a lengthy and complex process, consisting of reinforcement, cleaning, and the retouching of the painting itself.

The restorers take us through the meticulous cleaning process involving Japanese rice paper, a gel made from marine algae, and a solvent.

Piero was not just a painter; he was a member of an important family in Borgo Sansepolcro. There is a fresco painting attributed to him that might have alluded to the family business, which was producing and selling leather goods.

It's rare for a work of art to become the symbol of a city and even be part of its coat of arms, but this did indeed happen in Borgo Sansepolcro. Piero's Resurrection may be thought of as a fresco, but it's much more complicated than that, as we learn in this segment.

For art historians, it is so interesting to try to figure out, with the materials at hand, what Piero wanted his work to finally look like, but it's a challenge, as the artist's initial sketches have been lost.

With techniques available today, it is possible to distinguish the various layers of plaster used on different days of work, to determine in what order the artists and their assistants applied the paint. And during the cleaning, details can come out that were previously not visible, including buildings and even letters of the alphabet.

Retouching the painting is a very delicate job, and is done in such a way as to be reversible, and respectful to the original.

We take a look at the details of Piero's Resurrezione, details we might not notice by looking at the painting as a whole. Why is Christ not dressed in white? Is there something special about the countryside in the background? The answers are fascinating.

Had the Resurrection always been in the same spot or had it been moved? We are taken through the questions journalists and historians have to ask: where, when, and why. A researcher, after much research, finally found the answer.

As a result of historical research and restoration, it was discovered that the Resurrection had not been painted on the wall on which we now see it, but had been transported from another location, likely the external facade of the building, under the arengario of Borgo Sansepolcro.

We learn some more about the origins of Piero's Resurrection and why it might have been commissioned. As with other works of art, the Resurrection likely had political symbolism as well as religious symbolism.

We learn more about how and why Piero's Resurrection was moved from its original position. It's fascinating.

If two important works of Piero's survived the bombings during World War II, it was due to the efforts of art historians and restorers such as Ugo Procacci. In addition to the Resurrection, a wonderful painting of the Virgin Mary as she was expecting a child, "La Madonna del Parto" was saved and is now housed in the museum in Monterchi, Arezzo.