Founded by Archbishop Gaspare Cervantes in the aftermath of the Council of Trent to instruct the clergy, the Diocesan Museum “San Matteo” of Salerno has been expanded and renovated over the centuries, taking on its current neoclassical appearance in the early 19th century. Through the museum’s entrance, visitors access a spacious courtyard. On the ground floor are storage rooms and the administrative offices, while the exhibition halls can be found on the first floor. The museum’s rich artistic heritage includes works spanning from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
Following the 1980 earthquake, the premises were restored. In 1993, the collection was expanded to include a section of panel paintings from the 14th to 16th centuries and a room dedicated to the 16th-century painter Andrea Sabatini. Currently, the exhibition spaces are being reorganized: only a selection of artworks, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, housed in three spacious rooms, are on display.
The Art Collection
Most of the works in the collection come from the Cathedral of Salerno. The first room features the precious ivory cycle: 67 pieces of local craftsmanship from the first half of the 12th century, mostly depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The most likely original use was as an altar frontal.
Exultet
Highlights include the renowned ivory panels with scenes from the Old and New Testaments (12th century), an altar frontal, and eleven parchment sheets from the Exultet roll (13th century) illustrating the Easter Proclamation. The paintings, mostly on wood or canvas, date from the 13th to the 20th centuries, with a significant representation from the 17th and 18th centuries, especially thanks to the bequest of Marquis Giovanni Ruggi D’Aragona (1870). The collection provides insight into the key artistic trends from the Campania region, highlighting local painter Andrea Sabatini.
The museum also boasts an important numismatic collection, including 923 coins ranging from Magna Graecia to the Norman period, showcased in dedicated cabinets, alongside a collection of papal medals. Precious manuscripts (from the 11th century), some superbly illuminated (such as a 13th-century Pontifical), parchments (13 degrees from the Salerno medical college), 16th- and 17th-century prints, enrich the museum. The collections are further enhanced by marble and wooden sculptures, mosaic plutei (12th century) from the lower choir of the Cathedral, goldsmith’s works, a lapidary, and various archaeological finds from the Roman and early medieval periods.
Pontifical Book
The Pontifical Book, crafted in Bologna for Salerno Cathedral in 1180, is also fully illuminated. Also noteworthy are a wooden crucifix of Byzantine origin and the so-called Cross of Robert Guiscard, a reliquary from the late 11th century containing the teeth of Saints Matthew and James the Less and a fragment of the True Cross. The panel paintings, from both the cathedral and other churches of the Diocese, illustrate Campania’s artistic evolution between the 14th and 16th centuries: among them, the Crucifixion by Roberto D’Oderisio, the only signed work by the Neapolitan painter with Giotto-like influences; the Coronation of the Virgin attributed to the so-called Master of the Coronation of Eboli; and the Saint Michael the Archangel by Verona’s Cristoforo Scacco, painted in the second half of the 15th century. The first Mannerist triptych with Madonna and Saints by Salerno-born Vincenzo De Rogata; complex 16th-century works by the so-called Master of Franciscan Polyptychs, Bartolomeo da Pistoia, and especially Andrea Sabatini, whose panels — all featuring the Virgin Mary — are displayed in the third room.
Devotional Painting after the Counter-Reformation
This artistic movement is represented by the canvas of The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena and the splendid Madonna of the Rosary by Francesco Curia. From the 17th century, notable works include Saint Gemiano Penitent and Saint Peter by Jusepe De Ribera. The canvas depicting Saint Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch — the museum’s latest acquisition — recalls landscapes inspired by Domenichino’s painting. Paintings by Nicola Vaccaro and Nicola Malinconico bridge Giordanesque influences and the new 18th-century artistic trends.
Since 2006, the collection has grown with items donated by the late Director Mons. Arturo Carucci, now housed in two side rooms. The library and archive, temporarily located in the administrative offices, offer about 4,000 titles available by request.
The bright corridors leading to the exhibition halls currently display part of the coin collection, ranging from Magna Graecia to the Salerno Mint. The exhibition also includes goldsmith artefacts, a lapidary, and archaeological finds from the Roman and early medieval periods.
Information about Diocesan Museum “San Matteo”
Largo Plebiscito, 12
84121 Salerno
Phone: 089.239126
Opening Hours — Diocesan Museum San Matteo
From 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Closed on Wednesdays
Ticket Prices — Diocesan Museum San Matteo
Adults €2.00
Students (all school levels) €1.00
