Museo del Tesoro della Basilica di San Francesco
Museum of the Sacro Convento in Assisi with liturgical treasure from the 13th century, the Perkins Collection of 14th-century panels and an area devoted to musical instruments.
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About the museum
The Museo del Tesoro of the Basilica of San Francesco dates back to the 13th century: the collection was begun in 1230 with the first precious gifts received for the solemn translation of the body of St Francis into the basilica. The core consists of objects for liturgical use, kept for centuries in a secret room at the foot of the bell tower and later in the secret sacristy of the Lower Church, and it was enriched over time with donations from popes and rulers, relics, liturgical books and vestments. It also suffered losses and plunder, the most serious being the sack of 1798 by Napoleonic troops.
In 1929, after the convent had been returned to the friars, the collection was arranged and opened to the public in the present Salone papale (papal hall). The Perkins Collection, a gift from the American art historian Frederick Mason Perkins, was acquired in 1955 and enriched in the 1980s with 57 works of Italian painting from the 13th to the 17th century. In 1977 all the works were moved to the Salone Gotico (Gothic hall) of the former Palazzo Papale, on the second floor of the cloister.
Today the museum holds about a hundred works: the panel with St Francis and four healing miracles by the school of Giunta Pisano (mid-13th century), the illuminated missal of St Louis IX, the chalice by Guccio di Mannaia of 1290, given by Pope Nicholas IV, and the Flemish tapestry of the Franciscan Tree of 1478. The Perkins Collection comprises some fifty panels from the 14th to the 16th centuries, among them works by Pietro Lorenzetti, Lorenzo Monaco and Sassetta. One area is devoted to musical instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Highlights
- Panel with St Francis and four miracles, school of Giunta Pisano
- Illuminated missal of St Louis IX
- Chalice by Guccio di Mannaia (1290)
- Flemish tapestry of the Franciscan Tree (1478)
- Perkins Collection with panels by Lorenzetti, Lorenzo Monaco and Sassetta
- Musical instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries
Permanent exhibition
- Collezione permanente del Museo del Tesoro – About a hundred works in the Gothic hall of the Palazzo Papale: liturgical treasure, the Perkins Collection and the area of musical instruments.
- Founded
- 1929
- Operated by
- Custodia Generale del Sacro Convento di San Francesco
- Visitors per year
- approx. 52,160
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Admission by voluntary donation.
Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | A virtual tour of the museum is available, produced within the project “IncontrArti oltre l'immagine” of the Musei Ecclesiastici Umbri. |
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