At the end of the great nave, the elegant apse of Santa Croce is lit by the light filtering through the windows and highlighting the vivid colors and effects of the frescoes. Here you are looking at the work of Agnolo Gaddi, done in 1380 and depicting a theme which is especially dear to the Franciscans, the Legend of the True Cross.

In this church, then, the focus is on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the ground plan itself is in the form of a cross. St Francis himself, because he bore Our Lord's stigmata, was considered another Christ figure.