Museo Civico Comunale di Bracciano

Bracciano's Civic Museum occupies the ground floor of the former Augustinian convent of Santa Maria Novella. Its collections trace the territory's history from Etruscan and Roman antiquity through the nineteenth century, combining archaeology, sacred art and material from the town's civic past.

Why it matters

Opened in 2006, the museum preserves objects from municipal, state and private collections. It connects the Etruscan and Roman settlements around Lake Bracciano with the history of the medieval and ducal town. The former convent also adds a civic layer: after its religious use, the building served as a school, post office, courthouse and prison.

What to notice

Among the collection's highlights are Venus and Adonis by Bracciano-born sculptor Cristoforo Stati and an Apollo sculpture from Vicarello, held on loan from the state. Other works include a fifteenth-century bust of Christ associated with the circle of Andrea Bregno, a terracotta Annunciation and an inkwell dated 1609 bearing the names of the town's priors. A well in the courtyard carries the arms of Paolo Giordano Orsini and Isabella de' Medici.

Context and history

Santa Maria Novella was an Augustinian convent before the property passed to the municipality in 1873. Restoration preceded the museum's opening in 2006. The collection includes archaeological material from Etruscan and Roman settlements around the lake, alongside devotional objects and records of the town's later history. The Panunzi family collection enriched its documentary holdings in 2020.