The Museum is arranged inside the elegant rooms of the current Episcopal Seminary, formerly the Molfetta college of the Society of Jesus, built starting from 1610. It was indeed the Jesuits who initiated an important cultural activity in the Adriatic town. Already in the 1830s, Mons. Filippo Giudice Caracciolo ordered the setup of some museum rooms in this location, with the first collection of archaeological material from the Pulo di Molfetta, owned by the archpriest and scholar from Molfetta G. M. Giovene (1753-1837). Subsequently, the collection was enriched with finds from the archaeological sites of Terlizzi and Bisceglie, gathered by the archdeacon Francesco Samarelli, and by donations from private collectors (Cascarano – de Trizio). After a period of stagnation, its reopening is credited to Mons. Achille Salvucci (1935-1978) and the establishment of the Museum-Art Gallery in 1980 to Mons. Aldo Garzia. In the following years, due to the growth of the museum collection, the Diocesan Museum underwent several renovations until the current reorganization desired by Bishop Mons. Luigi Martella, who returned it to public accessibility on June 18, 2009, entrusting its management to a youth cooperative that has overseen it since January 2010.
Information about Diocesan Museum Molfetta – Museum-Art Gallery “Mons. Achille Salvucci”
Via Entica della Chiesa,
70056 Molfetta (Bari)
0803381369
https://www.comune.molfetta.ba.it
Source: MIBACT
