Located in Piazza Gabriotti, next to the cathedral dedicated to Saints Florido and Amanzio, with an area of almost 800 sqm it is one of the largest Italian museums dedicated to sacred art.
Originally made up of only two rooms, accessed through the cathedral’s sacristy, it was expanded and institutionalized in 1991 with the opening of five more rooms, arranged over two floors and partly created from the old 16th-17th century sacristies, and partly from other 14th-15th century rooms that were already part of the church. The last expansion took place in 2000, extending the exhibition space to twelve rooms, including a large Gothic hall with transverse pointed arches, probably originally a religious building, which, like the other rooms, underwent extensive restoration work.
The collection was formed to provide a proper place for the works of art owned by the Cathedral Chapter and the churches in the area and stands out for the quantity and quality of liturgical objects, ranging from the 6th to the 19th century. Besides the Treasure of Canoscio, a testimony to the cults practiced by local Christian communities of the 6th century, it preserves goldsmith works including a 12th-century altar frontal and a Sienese goldsmith’s crook, chalices, patens, monstrances, and a rich collection of liturgical vestments notable for the integrity of most of the sets. The museum also holds important documentary evidence related to the city’s ecclesiastical history, including the parchment in which Frederick Barbarossa placed the clergy under his protection, as well as paintings by renowned artists such as Pintoricchio, Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco da Tiferno, and Bernardino Gagliardi.
Information about the Cathedral Museum of Città di Castello
Piazza Gabriotti, 3/A
06012 Città di Castello (Perugia)
0758554705
museoduomo@tiscali.it
Source: MIBACT
