Museo Diocesano di Arte Sacra

Lodi’s Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art presents works from churches across the diocese in two historic venues: the Cappella Palatina beside the cathedral and the former church of San Cristoforo. Founded in 1975, its collection includes paintings, altarpieces, sculpture and liturgical objects.

Why it matters

The collection traces the history of the local Church through thematic and chronological displays, including works associated with the Olivetan monks, the Dominican convent, Saint Bassianus, the Passion and the Incarnation. The addition of San Cristoforo expanded the museum into a second historic church and returned the building to cultural use. Together, the venues preserve works from Lodi Cathedral and churches across the diocese.

What to notice

The Cappella Palatina includes the reassembled Pala dell’Assunta associated with Alberto Piazza and works by Giovanni Battista Trotti, known as il Malosso. The collection also includes a monumental wooden altar by Francesco Lupi and a reliquary designed by Ernesto Pirovano with Giovanni Lomazzi. San Cristoforo, a Gothic church dating to around 1300, has an interior redesigned with a radial layout. Its collections include sacred art and a nativity scene by Antonio Londonio; sections described as being developed in recent institutional material include archaeology and Renaissance textiles.

Context and history

Monsignor Giulio Oggioni established the museum in 1975 in the Cappella Palatina of the bishop’s palace beside the cathedral. The restored former church of San Cristoforo later became its second venue and a diocesan cultural centre for exhibitions and related activities. The museum is part of the network of Italian ecclesiastical cultural institutions documented by the CEI’s BeWeB portal. Its collection includes works from the cathedral and churches across the diocese, including a late-fifteenth-century processional canopy associated with Bishop Carlo Pallavicino.