Museum of Sacred Art
The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art is housed in a wing of Palazzo Orsini in Pitigliano.
Established in 1989 by the Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, the museum was enlarged in 1998 and inaugurated the following year.
The museum has 18 rooms, divided over two levels and grouped by subject:
- Rooms 1-3: A cycle of 16th-18th century paintings, some Renaissance-style decorations, armour, glass and ceramics, two paintings from the Sienese school, depicting the Archangel Raphael and Christ among the Saints, donated by the Convent of San Francesco di Piancastagnaio. It then continues with a painting by Apollonio Nasini depicting the Transitus of St. Joseph. There’s also a painting of the Circumcision of Jesus, dating from the 17th century, a banner used in sacred processions and depicting the Madonna del Rosario and San Giorgio and San Rocco. There’s an interesting section of statues with a statue of the Madonna dating back to the 1400s and a statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, made from terracotta and dating back to the 1500s.
- Rooms 4-7: Scenes of the Annunciation, painted by the painter Francesco Nasini in the 1600s. In Room 5, you can see representations of the Orsini Fortresses at Sorano, Naples, Marsiliana and Sovana, all ruled by the Orsini family, on the walls. There’s also a painting of the Madonna with Child and Saint Anthony of Padua by Bernardino Mei in the 1600s, along with a 16th century pictorial cycle dedicated to members of the Orsini family, a painting of the Annunciation of the Virgin with Saints Francis, Jerome and Thomas, dating back to the 1500s by the artist Girolamo di Benvenuto, donated by the Convent of the Santissima Trinità della Selva, and a marble tabernacle. Finally, a painting of the Madonna and Child by Jacopo della Quercia, and a panel of the Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints Francis and Peter by Guidoccio Cozzarelli at the end of the 1500s.
- Room 8-16: A collection of sacred objects and furnishings, the Lorraine jewels, silver objects, ampoules, crosses, chalices and the reliquary arm of Saint Gregory VII. A small collection of torture instruments, 10th-11th century scrolls and some papal bulls.
Room 17-18, the last two rooms of the Museum of Sacred Art show sacred vestments worn by the Bishops of the Diocese. The last room displays a collection of paintings by the three famous Maremman painters, Pietro Aldi, Paride Pascucci and Francesco Zuccarelli. Francesco Zuccarelli was originally from Pitigliano. He painted the Demonio’s Expulsion from Hell by the Archangel Michael and the Redemption of Souls from Purgatory to Paradise. Paride Pascucci and Pietro Aldi were originally from the nearby village of Manciano. The first painted the Bishop Giulio Matteoli, while the second painted the stories of the life of Pope Gregory VII and his meeting with Emperor Henry IV at the Countess Matilde di Canossa’s Castle.
Museo di Diocesano Arte Sacra
Piazza Fortezza Orsini, 25
tel. 0564/616074; 0564/615568
www.palazzo-orsini-pitigliano.it
Opening hours
Winter: 10am – 1pm / 3pm – 5pm
Summer: 10am-1pm / 3pm-6pm
Entrance tickets
Full ticket €4
Reduced ticket €3
Children (8-10 years) € 2.50