The splendid 13th-century hall used as a museum – belonging to the ancient Palatium from the late 13th century, reserved for guests – was discovered after the Second World War, thanks to a fortunate excavation that revealed the existence of a capital on the walls and, subsequently, columns and the entire structure of the hall. The vault was rebuilt because it was irreparably damaged, but everything else preserves its originality. Established in the 1960s and currently being reassembled, the museum has expanded its collection over the years and today houses artifacts of remarkable artistic value, such as the splendid polyptych of the Raphael school, commissioned for the main altar of the abbey’s basilica, once believed to be the work of Andrea Sabatini from Salerno and now almost unanimously attributed to the Lombard Cesare da Sesto. Noteworthy is the selection of protomes, amphorae, Roman sarcophagi, and fragments of medieval sculptures in the first room, followed by precious 14th- and 15th-century paintings of the Tuscan school, reliefs created by Tino di Camaino’s workshop, a low-medieval wooden statue depicting a Madonna with Child, and a large collection of 16th-century panel paintings. Among the latter are works by Girolamo da Salerno, the abbey’s trusted painter and collaborator of Cesare da Sesto; paintings by Severo Ierace, brother-in-law of Andrea Sabatini from Salerno; the altarpiece made by Agostino Tesauro for the church of San Cesareo; and the tondo executed by Francesco Penni based on a drawing by Raphael. The 17th and 18th-century works are quite numerous and represent significant expressions of naturalistic, classicist, and baroque painting, such as those by Giacinto Diano and Carlo Maratta. The museum also houses a rich collection of metal, porcelain, ivory, and ceramic works from different periods and workshops, like silver processional crosses, a fine selection of 18th-century Abruzzo workshop plates, Naples-made majolica tiles, and precious liturgical vestments. Splendid is the 15th-century ivory casket decorated with warrior figures surrounded by vegetal scroll elements. A 14th-century nautical chart and some choir books, displayed in two showcases, offer only a sample of the precious paper and parchment material that the Abbey keeps in its very rich archive.
Information about the Museum of the Abbey of Cava dei Tirreni
Via Morcaldi
84010 Salerno (Salerno)
089 463922
https://www.badiadicava.it
Source: MIBACT
