Museum of the Sanctuary of San Vito Lo Capo

The Museum of the Sanctuary of San Vito Lo Capo, housed in the premises surrounding the church and originally intended for the garrison and the reception of noble pilgrims, is open during the summer season.

The Museum includes a remarkable collection of precious sacred silver, historic vestments, and a section dedicated to the cult of San Vito in Sicily and Italy.

The architecture of the building, with its layers, shows the evolution of the Sanctuary over the centuries and presents itself as a very interesting blend of elements of military construction (the lance tower, the arrow slits, the gatekeeper, etc…), religious (the votive niches, the rose window, the bell tower, etc…) and civil (the noble staircase, the sundial, the balconies, etc…).

The first room is dedicated to silverware, mostly of Sicilian manufacture, belonging to different periods: the oldest date back to the late 1500s, the most recent to the 21st century. The room also houses the most important work, the wooden statue of the Immaculate from the 15th century, and an Ecce Homo in stucco, created by Orazio Ferraro in the 16th century, a delicately crafted piece once placed on the main altar of the Sanctuary.

The next room is the vestments room, whose most important piece is the now famous 17th-century green velvet chasuble. The historic vestments come from 18th century Palermo workshops. Particularly significant is the collection of red vestments, consisting of a cope, chasuble, dalmatic, and tunic.

The noble staircase displays paintings, some of contemporary art. From the staircase, you reach the room—interesting from an anthropological point of view—dedicated to popular devotion, which presents everyday objects offered to the Saint: ex votos, woodcuts, oil prints, holy cards, statuettes, ceramics, and glass paintings from Italy and Europe.

The room also houses significant gifts from San Vito towns in Italy, including “la centa” (a weaving of candles) from the shepherds of Irpinia (San Gregorio Magno) and the model of the Sanctuary of San Vito di Nole (Turin).

Finally, you reach the terraces from which you can enjoy a superb panorama.