Photo: Pietro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Museo diocesano

Museum of sacred art in the sacristy of the church of San Francesco, with medieval and baroque goldsmiths’ work, sculptures and the 15th-century Pasquarella.

Opening hours unknownFree admission

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About the museum

The museum occupies two rooms in the sacristy of the church of San Francesco d’Assisi in Castelvecchio Subequo, part of the former convent complex. The church was begun in the 13th century, consecrated in 1288 and reworked in the 17th century; the complex has been a national monument since 1902.

The first room displays goldsmiths’ work from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. Its best-known piece is the Pasquarella, a 15th-century gold and silver sculpture attributed to goldsmiths from Sulmona, which shows the Madonna and Child enthroned between two angels. A 14th-century reliquary containing blood attributed to Saint Francis is also kept here. The second room gathers sculptures from the 15th to the 18th century, including a small 17th-century ciborium and two 15th-century statues.

In the church, a chapel fully painted with frescoes of scenes from the life of Saint Francis, by artists of the Giottesque school of the 14th century, and an 18th-century wooden tabernacle deserve attention.

Highlights

Pasquarella, a 15th-century gold and silver sculpture
Reliquary with blood attributed to Saint Francis
Goldsmiths’ work from the Middle Ages to the 18th century
Frescoed chapel in the church, in the Giottesque style

Permanent exhibition

Museo d’arte sacra – Goldsmiths’ work, reliquaries and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the 18th century in the sacristy of the church of San Francesco.

Visitors per year: approx. 450