Palazzo Varo stands on Largo San Michele, on an area that in the Middle Ages belonged to the Angel Abbey complex; the building dates back to the 16th century and is a work of remarkable architectural value that still shows Renaissance style in the facade’s shapes, just like the nearby Fontana Nuova. Unfortunately, over the centuries the complex underwent numerous alterations by the owning families, which changed its original layout: what remains are the portal with noble lintel, the internal stone staircase, and the cellars that open onto the square. The Varo family sold the property to the Diocese of Troia in the early 1900s. The “Oblate” nuns then settled there, using it as a convent and educational institute. At the beginning of the 1960s, the nuns moved to another location and the Bishop of Troia rented the building to the Ministry of Public Education, which used it as the seat of the State Middle School “Sacred Heart.” At the end of the 1960s, the State Middle School found its proper location in a newly built school building, and Palazzo Varo became the headquarters of ANSPI. In the 1970s, some rooms on the first floor of the building were designated to house the Sant’Angelo Museum.
Information on the Diocesan Ecclesiastical Museum – Orsara di Puglia Section
Via Carlo Alberto, 1
71027 Orsara di Puglia (Foggia)
0881964064
antonioasoria@emai.it
Source: MIBACT
