Monumental complex of Santa Maria di Castello, Genoa

The convent complex of Santa Maria di Castello, close to the port area of ​​Molo, occupies the top of a hilly area of ​​very ancient settlement.

Monumental complex of Santa Maria di Castello, Genoa
Monumental complex of Santa Maria di Castello, Genoa

The stratified presence of pre-Roman, Roman and Byzantine fortifications, up until the construction of the bishop's palace between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, characterized this area as the seat of military and religious power. The current building of Santa Maria di Castello is the Romanesque basilica with three naves with transept and three apses built in the first quarter of the XNUMXth century by Antelami workers.

The primitive appearance of the church was partly altered by the renovations of the 1859th and XNUMXth centuries. From the second half of the XNUMXth century, coinciding with a serious numerical and economic weakening of the Dominicans, alienations and transformations alternated often due to the need to rent areas of the convent, while in the church the decoration of some chapels continued. In the first half of the XNUMXth century the convent was in a state of decay, which worsened in XNUMX with the occupation of the troops of the Sardinian-Piedmontese army and the expulsion of the friars as a result of the application of the law Cavour-Rattazzi which in 1855 had suppressed the religious corporations: partly confiscated by the State, the convent was included in a building speculation program which was implemented in 1870 with the raising of the first and third cloisters, transformed into apartment buildings.

The idea of ​​building a museum a Santa Maria di Castello was born from the need to exhibit many works which, following the transformations of the church and convent, were left without a precise location or were not visible to the public. A first museum was built by Gianvittorio Castelnovi in 1959.

In January 2001, 12 new rooms covering 400 mXNUMX were inaugurated. the furnishings and the various collections coming not only from Santa Maria di Castello, but also from other Dominican convents and monasteries.

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