Museo Diocesano di Lanciano

The Diocesan Museum of Lanciano occupies part of the archbishop's palace beside the cathedral. Opened in 2002, it brings together sacred art from the Archdiocese of Lanciano-Ortona, including works from the cathedral treasury and local churches.

Why it matters

The collection presents the religious and artistic history of the Frentani through works spanning the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. It includes paintings, sculpture, goldsmith work, vestments, ex-votos, manuscripts and wooden furnishings. The museum brings together objects no longer used in worship or preserved in their original settings while retaining their connection to the churches and communities from which they came.

What to notice

The Madonna del Ponte treasury includes ex-votos and gold jewellery offered to Lanciano's patroness. Among the collection's notable works are a fifteenth-century processional cross associated with Nicola da Guardiagrele and a medieval silk chasuble recovered during restoration work at San Giovanni. A wooden model of the cathedral's façade and a range of paintings, vestments and liturgical objects extend the museum's account of the city's sacred heritage.

Context and history

The museum opened to the public in 2002 in the archbishop's palace. Its collection has grown through donations, deposits and discoveries, including the fourteenth-century chasuble found in 2014 during restoration of the bell tower of San Giovanni. A separate museum section in Ortona forms a second centre for the archdiocese's cultural heritage.