Museo del Risorgimento «Lo Spielberg d'Irpinia»

About the museum

The civic museum “Lo Spielberg d’Irpinia” is located in the former Bourbon prison of Montefusco, in Piazza Castello. The building was originally a Lombard castrum with a square plan, enlarged and strengthened in the Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese periods; under the Aragonese it housed the court of the Royal Provincial Audience of Principato Ultra.

In 1851 Ferdinand II of Bourbon turned the building into a political prison for opponents of the regime. The harsh conditions in the basements dug into the rock, the cold, the damp and the exemplary punishments made the place so feared that it earned the nickname “Spielberg of Irpinia”, a reference to the Austrian fortress where Italian patriots had been imprisoned. Among those held there were the Neapolitan patriots Poerio, Nisco, Castromediano and Pironti, some of whom left moving diaries of their imprisonment.

From 1877 to 1923 the building was a district prison. Today it houses the museum dedicated to the history of the Risorgimento (Italian unification) in southern Italy and to the story of the political prisoners, in a route that allows visitors to walk through the very rooms of the detention.

Highlights

• Former Bourbon political prison in the Montefusco castle
• Basements carved into the rock
• Story of the imprisoned patriots: Poerio, Nisco, Castromediano
• Structure of Lombard origin, later a Norman-Swabian castle

Permanent exhibition

• Il carcere borbonico e il Risorgimento meridionale – Route through the rooms of the former Bourbon political prison, devoted to the imprisoned patriots and the history of the building.

Operated by

Comune di Montefusco

Visitors per year

approx. 350

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum occupies the basements and rooms of the former prison in the castle; the sources consulted do not provide information on accessibility.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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