Galleria d'arte contemporanea della Pro Civitate Christiana

About the museum

The Contemporary Art Gallery is part of the Osservatorio Cristiano of the Pro Civitate Christiana, a multimedia documentation and study centre on the figure and work of Jesus Christ, founded at the wish of Don Giovanni Rossi. The idea was to create a gallery that was not a mere collection of works, but a tool to show how contemporary art interprets the figure of Christ, with particular attention to the “Christ the worker”.

The collection began in the 1940s; the first works on the theme entered the collection from 1951, thanks to commissions and solo exhibitions of Christian art. Between 1958 and 1960 the Cittadella was built to a design by Pina Ciampani, housing the gallery, library, sound library and iconographic collection; the gallery was officially opened in 1961. In 1961 the complete series of 58 original engravings of Georges Rouault’s Miserere also entered the collection.

Today the gallery holds over 4,000 paintings and sculptures, from the 1940s to the present day, with Jesus as the divine worker as the predominant subject. Among the artists represented are Carlo Carrà, Giorgio de Chirico, Pericle Fazzini, Ferruccio Ferrazzi, Emilio Greco, Francesco Messina, Domenico Purificato, Fausto Pirandello, Georges Rouault, Mario Tozzi and William Congdon. The museum belongs to the Rete Museale Ecclesiastica Umbra (network of church museums of Umbria).

Highlights

• Over 4,000 paintings and sculptures with Christological subjects
• Complete series of the 58 original engravings of Georges Rouault’s Miserere
• Works by Carrà, de Chirico, Fazzini, Greco, Messina and Tozzi
• Crucifixions by William Congdon
• Thematic route on the “Christ the worker”

Permanent exhibition

• Galleria d'arte contemporanea: Gesù divino lavoratore – Twentieth-century and contemporary paintings and sculptures with Christological subjects, in particular on the theme of Christ the worker.

Founded

1961

Operated by

Pro Civitate Christiana

Visitors per year

approx. 4,000

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free; voluntary donations to support the museum are welcome. Visitors can obtain reductions on tickets for some Umbrian diocesan museums (including the Museo Diocesano di Gubbio and the Museo del Tesoro della Basilica di San Francesco).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Entrance from the road via a sloping ramp, lift to all exhibition floors, level floors without steps, accessible toilets on the ground floor. On request a parking space in front of the entrance is available. Guide dogs are admitted, other animals are not.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The Cittadella is in the historic centre of Assisi, at Via degli Ancajani 3. By car, access is from Porta San Francesco, in a limited traffic zone (ZTL) with access for those with a booking.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Wi-Fi

All exhibition rooms are covered by Wi-Fi. Outside the building, in the Cittadella, there are a bar, restaurant and vending machines.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 650 guests.

The Cittadella has conference rooms (Sala Cristalli, 40 seats; Sala ping-pong, 50; Sala San Giovanni, 182; Teatro Auditorium, 650), an amphitheatre and terraces for outdoor events.

Plan your visit