Museo Diocesano di Monopoli

The Diocesan Museum of Monopoli occupies the former bishop's seminary beside the cathedral and traces the city's religious art from the Byzantine period to the Baroque era.

Why it matters

The collection brings together paintings, textiles, manuscripts and sacred objects from Monopoli's churches, revealing the artistic networks and devotional practices of a former diocesan centre.

What to notice

Paintings by artists including Lazzaro Bastiani, Paolo Veronese, Palma il Giovane and Paolo Finoglio sit alongside embroidered vestments, illuminated antiphonaries, a portolan chart, a staurotheca and Byzantine icons. The icon of the Madonna della Madia connects the collection with the city's central devotional tradition.

Context and history

The seminary was founded by Bishop Giuseppe Cavalieri in 1668 as a centre for clerical education. The museum was established in 2002 in the former seminary, keeping the diocesan collection close to the cathedral whose history it helps interpret.