Museo del Duomo

Udine's Duomo Museum preserves the cathedral's history through medieval chapels, frescoes, sculpture and liturgical objects. A central theme is the memory of Bertrando di Saint-Geniès, patriarch of Aquileia from 1334 until his assassination in 1350.

Why it matters

Devotion to Bertrando brought together objects associated with his burial and later veneration. These collections place personal memory within the wider history of the cathedral, connecting religious patronage, artistic production and the political life of medieval Friuli.

What to notice

Vitale da Bologna's frescoes in the chapel of San Nicolò are a major element of the medieval decoration. The chapel of the Corpo di Cristo contains fifteenth-century panels illustrating Bertrando's life. The baptistery preserves his marble ark, while funeral textiles include garments from different workshops and periods. Some may have belonged to him; others were added during later treatment of his remains.

Context and history

Bertrando instituted the baptistery in 1348. His assassination and the devotion that followed gave the cathedral another focus of memory. Goldsmiths' work and textiles extend the story beyond the fourteenth century, while other collections document the eighteenth-century renewal of the cathedral.