Museo d'Arte Sacra del Duomo (Basilica del Crocifisso)

The Basilica del Crocifisso is a ninth-century church within Amalfi Cathedral's monumental complex. Restored to reveal Romanesque features, it now houses the diocesan sacred-art museum.

Why it matters

The basilica was built over an earlier Christian structure and was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saints Cosmas and Damian. It predates much of the present cathedral fabric and preserves a distinct phase in the history of Amalfi's ecclesiastical complex. Twentieth-century restoration campaigns from 1931 to 1991 removed later Baroque additions and exposed medieval elements.

What to notice

The building has three naves and a matroneum, an upper gallery above the side aisles. Its name derives from a wooden crucifix of the thirteenth century that was venerated there. The church's restored walls and gallery make its earlier architectural form legible within the wider cathedral complex.

Context and history

The basilica was progressively remodelled in Baroque taste before the twentieth-century restoration returned attention to its Romanesque fabric. The former church later became the home of Amalfi's diocesan sacred-art collection. It has housed the museum since the 1990s, preserving the building as part of the cathedral complex.