Museo Diocesano di Agrigento

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1877 by Bishop Domenico Turano, who gathered the first works in two rooms of the Cathedral’s chapter hall: the Sarcophagus room, with classical finds, and the de Marinis room, with medieval and Renaissance stone works. The modern project, designed by Franco Minissi, dates from 1964, but a landslide forced its closure as early as 1966, and the works were moved to the Archaeological Museum of the Valley of the Temples.

In 2008 the collections returned to the Cathedral; in 2011 new subsidence of the hill led to their permanent transfer to the rooms of the Archbishop’s Palace, which had been enlarged in the eighteenth century by Bishop Andrea Lucchesi Palli. Today the Mudia is a dispersed museum along via Duomo, comprising the collections of the Palace, the Cathedral rooms (with the Montaperto tower, the former chapter hall and the Hall of Sarcophagi) and the church of Santa Maria dei Greci, built on a Greek temple.

The route is arranged in seventeen sections along two itineraries, one historical-artistic and one liturgical-pastoral. It presents, among other things, an Arabic inscription from 979, medieval stone material, decorative arts of the 12th and 13th centuries, the picture gallery (quadreria), silverware, ivories, liturgical books and textiles. The exhibition centre in the church of San Lorenzo, in via Atenea, hosts the exhibitions organised by the museum.

Highlights

• Arabic inscription from 979 found on Linosa
• Portable altar of the Crusaders
• Reliquary of San Gerlando in rock crystal
• Paintings from the school of Guido Reni
• Hall of Sarcophagi in the Cathedral
• Giardino del vescovo (bishop’s garden)

Permanent exhibitions

• Collezioni del Palazzo Arcivescovile – Seventeen sections on the history of the diocese from the 10th to the 19th century: stone material, medieval decorative arts, picture gallery, silverware, ivories, liturgical books and textiles.
• Sale Mudia della Cattedrale – Towers, wooden ceiling, former chapter hall and Hall of Sarcophagi, including the sarcophagus of Phaedra and Hippolytus admired by Goethe.

Founded

1877

Operated by

Arcidiocesi di Agrigento – Ufficio Beni Culturali (servizi di accoglienza: Anthos Srl, progetto «Oltre la Valle»)

Visitors per year

approx. 17,918

Admission & discounts

The Mudia ticket (€4) covers the museum and the garden. Admission is free for residents of the archdiocese of Agrigento (with ID), clergy, journalists, ICOM members, guides and accompanying staff on duty, and pilgrims with a testimonium. The San Lorenzo centre has free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum offers educational workshops for schools and an outdoor space in the Giardino del vescovo – MUDIAkids for educational activities.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the historic centre of Agrigento, in via Duomo. It can be reached on foot, with the Mudibus service, by public transport or by car; narrow streets are not always passable by car.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Citrus marmalades made with fruit from the bishop’s garden are available in the museum. The garden can be used for a lunch break with a packed lunch (Mudia ticket).

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties

The museum’s inner garden can be hired for limited-capacity events on request; information at oltrelavalle.com.

Plan your visit