“Il Museo lapidario collects stone materials found both inside the sanctuary and in other sites in the area gravitating around the sanctuary. The most significant core of materials and the beginning of the lapidary itself are primarily connected with the excavations carried out in the mid-Fifties of the last century by Mons. 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 evidence of the Swabian-Angevin age and creating structures functional to the frequentation of the sanctuary. The excavations concerned both the spaces inside the modern sanctuary and the immediately surrounding areas; inside, the discovery of some rooms beneath the floor of the rectory led to the finding of the so-called “Lombard gallery,” the current seat 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 obstructed it was demolished. Regarding the Lapidary Museum, excavations from the Fifties revealed a significant heritage of materials from different eras and of various types. The devotional museum was founded in 1989.”
Information about Museums of the Basilica Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo
Via Reale Basilica, 127
71037 Monte Sant’Angelo (Foggia)
0884561150
santuariosanmichele@interfree.it
Source: MIBACT
