The “U Mastroianni” Civic Museum, inaugurated in 2000, is housed in the former church of St. Lucia, built over a Roman cistern dating back to between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD and reused as a Christian place of worship before the 11th century. In 1102, the first real church building was constructed, incorporating a tower-house. Around the mid-14th century, the church was completely redecorated, and in the 15th century, it was entirely transformed by building a series of pointed arches. It was deconsecrated in 1669 due to the construction of the Collegiate Church of St. Barnabas. After its suppression, it was used for various purposes, passing in 1850 to the Friars of the Most Precious Blood who reopened it for worship; after 1870, the building became state property and was used for secular purposes. Damaged by the bombings of 1944, it was rebuilt and adapted as a shelter for displaced people. Finally, in 1974 it was purchased by the Municipality of Marino as a venue for cultural events. The Museum currently displays artifacts from the municipal territory including classical statuary, funerary cippi, sarcophagi, inscriptions, protohistoric burials, and a fragment of an altar from the ancient church.
Information about the Umberto Mastroianni Museum
Largo Jacopa de’ Sottesoli snc,
00047 Marino (Rome)
069385681
museocivicomarino@interfree.it
Source: MIBACT
