Museo di Arte Sacra

Sabbioneta's Museum of Sacred Art occupies rooms in the canonica beside the church of Santa Maria Assunta. Its collections bring together religious heritage and objects associated with Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga's small state.

Why it matters

The Golden Fleece pendant is a particularly significant link with the duke. Vespasiano received the chivalric honour in 1585, and the pendant was recovered from his tomb in the church of the Incoronata in 1988.

What to notice

The small golden pendant represents the ram's fleece that gave the order its name. Another distinctive object is the volume of Sabbioneta's criminal and civil statutes, preserving the legal framework of the state. An organ donated by Vespasiano to the community adds a musical dimension. The canonica's botanical garden contains eighteenth-century marbles.

Context and history

The museum was first arranged in the canonica at the end of the 1980s and was subsequently reorganised. Its objects connect the devotional life of Sabbioneta with the political and cultural ambitions of its founder, giving the parish collections a place within the town's broader history.