The layered presence of pre-Roman, Roman, and Byzantine fortifications, up to the construction, between the 9th and 10th centuries, of the bishop’s palace, marked this area as the seat of military and religious power. The current Santa Maria di Castello building is the three-nave Romanesque basilica with a transept and three apses built in the first quarter of the 12th century by Antelamic craftsmen.
The original appearance of the church was partly altered by restorations in the 15th and 16th centuries. From the second half of the 17th century, coinciding with a severe numerical and economic weakening of the Dominicans, there were disposals and transformations often driven by the need to rent out areas of the convent, while decoration of some chapels within the church continued. In the first half of the 19th century, the convent was in a state of decay, which worsened in 1859 with the occupation by the Sardinian-Piedmontese army troops and the expulsion of the friars following the enforcement of the Cavour-Rattazzi law that in 1855 had suppressed religious corporations: partially seized by the State, the convent was included in a building speculation plan carried out in 1870 with the raising of the first and third cloisters, transformed into apartment buildings.
The idea of creating a museum at Santa Maria di Castello arose from the need to display many works that, following the transformations of the church and convent, had no precise location or were not visible to the public. A first museum was established by Gianvittorio Castelnovi in 1959.
In January 2001, 12 new rooms were inaugurated, gathering in 400 sq.m. the furnishings and various collections coming not only from Santa Maria di Castello but also from other Dominican convents and monasteries.
