Museo diocesano di Recanati

First diocesan museum of the Marche, in the Palazzo Episcopale of Recanati: polyptychs, panels and sacred furnishings; currently closed due to earthquake damage.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed. After the 2016-2017 Central Italy earthquake the Palazzo Episcopale suffered damage that prevents visits; no reopening has been announced.

About the museum

The Museo diocesano di Recanati is housed in the Palazzo Episcopale, next to the co-cathedral of San Flaviano. The earliest nucleus of the building dates to 1240 and was rebuilt by Cardinal Angelo da Bevagna between 1389 and 1412. The museum, established in 1958 on the initiative of Bishop Aluigi Cossio, was the first diocesan museum in the Marche and gathered works from the co-cathedral and other churches in the town. It was later expanded with the portico of the old Episcopio and the ancient papal prisons of 1434, and the collection grew through donations from local families and purchases.

The museum was rearranged in the 2000s in the rooms of the piano nobile (main floor), with a route of twelve rooms inaugurated on 23 May 2006. Among the works are the polyptych by Guglielmo Veneziano of 1382, the Madonna of Humility by Giacomo di Nicola da Recanati, the polyptychs by Ludovico Urbani, a Holy Family attributed to Mantegna, a Virgo Purissima by Sassoferrato and a Saint Lucy attributed to Guercino, as well as relics, liturgical furnishings and sacred vestments.

After the 2016-2017 Central Italy earthquake the building suffered damage that no longer allows visits; restoration works have been delayed by a legal dispute with a private owner.

Highlights

Polyptych by Guglielmo Veneziano of 1382
Polyptychs by Ludovico Urbani
Madonna of Humility by Giacomo di Nicola da Recanati
Virgo Purissima by Sassoferrato
Holy Family attributed to Andrea Mantegna