“The Lapidary Museum collects stone materials found both inside the sanctuary and in other sites in the area surrounding the sanctuary. The most substantial collection of materials and the establishment of the lapidary itself are primarily linked to the excavations carried out in the mid-1950s by Monsignor Nicola Quitadamo. These, conducted between 1949 and 1955, brought to light the structures related to the oldest phases of the sanctuary. The interventions had the immediate goal of restoring the Swabian-Angevin age evidences and creating functional structures for visiting the sanctuary. The excavations concerned both the spaces inside the modern sanctuary and the adjoining areas; inside, the discovery of some rooms under the floor of the rectory led to the finding of the so-called “Lombard gallery,” the current site of the Lapidary Museum, which was found reused as a common grave. The original facade of the “gallery” was uncovered only in 1974 when the wall that blocked it was demolished. Regarding the Lapidary Museum, the excavations of the 1950s revealed a significant heritage of materials from different periods and of various types. The Devotional Museum was established in 1989.”
Information on Museums of the Sanctuary Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel
Via Reale Basilica, 127
71037 Monte Sant’Angelo (Foggia)
0884561150
santuariosanmichele@interfree.it
Source: MIBACT
