Museo Fra Giammaria da Tusa
Museum of the Capuchin friars in the Gibilmanna sanctuary, in ten rooms with sacred furnishings, paintings, a 17th-century organ and an ethno-anthropological section.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum belongs to the Province of Messina of the Friars Minor Capuchin and is housed in the convent-sanctuary of Gibilmanna, in the old workshops of the convent (stables, forge, hayloft and wool mill), restored for the purpose. It is named after Fra Giammaria da Tusa, guardian at Gibilmanna in 1565 and minister general of the Order in 1581.
The institution resulted from an initiative of the friars Mansueto and Gabriele Barreca, who in the early 1990s promoted the recovery and collection of the historic and artistic heritage of the convents of the Val Demone. The museum was opened to the public on 23 December 1992 and inaugurated on 26 June 1993.
The route comprises ten rooms, each dedicated to a friar or a person linked to the history of the convent. On display are vestments and sacred furnishings from the 17th to the 19th century, canvases, wooden and wax statuettes, chalices and silverware, including a 17th-century organ with marsh-reed pipes (organo a canne palustri), regarded as unique in Europe. An ethno-anthropological section gathers agricultural and craft tools from the Madonie and objects made by the friars. The museum is linked to a library with incunabula and to the convent’s historical archive.
Highlights
- 17th-century organ with marsh-reed pipes
- Seventeenth-century polyptych by Feliciano Messina
- 16th-century wooden statues of the Madonna and Saint Joseph
- Room dedicated to Saint Felice da Nicosia
- Ethno-anthropological section with the friars’ tools
- Library with incunabula
Permanent exhibitions
- Dieci sale del museo – Sacred furnishings, paintings, wooden and wax statuettes, a 17th-century organ with marsh-reed pipes and everyday objects of the friars, in rooms dedicated to friars from the history of the convent.
- Sezione etnoantropologica – Agricultural tools, craft implements and domestic objects from the Madonie, some of them made by the friars.
- Founded
- 1993
- Operated by
- Provincia di Messina dei Frati Minori Cappuccini
- Visitors per year
- approx. 630
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €2 |
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Single ticket of €2 according to museum portal listings; admission to the sanctuary is free.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The sanctuary is at Gibilmanna, about 15 km from Cefalù, and is reached mainly by car along a mountain road. Bus service may be limited.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | The museum is linked to a library and to a historical archive of the convent. |
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