Museo degli Arazzi

Behind Marsala’s cathedral, the Museo degli Arazzi preserves eight monumental Flemish tapestries from the late sixteenth century. Woven in wool and silk, they depict the Roman campaigns against Jerusalem and were donated to the Mother Church in 1589.

Why it matters

The eight Brussels-woven tapestries form an unusual surviving cycle in a Sicilian cathedral town. Their subject is the Jewish–Roman war described by Josephus, including the campaigns of Vespasian and Titus and the conquest of Jerusalem. The diocese interprets the choice in the context of the Counter-Reformation and Spanish rule in Flanders.

What to notice

The eight scenes narrate the Roman conquest in sequence. The series is attributed to Brussels tapestry-maker Cornelis Tons, working from cartoons by Peter De Kempeneer. Armour, standards and drapery are rendered through variations in the weave. Identifiable episodes include Agrippa appearing before Vespasian and Vespasian accepting his nomination as emperor.

Context and history

The tapestries were donated to Marsala’s Mother Church in 1589 by Archbishop Antonio Lombardo, who may have received them as a gift from the Queen of Spain. They remained with the church, and a museum devoted to the collection was established in 1984. The tapestries’ history links the cathedral treasury with a distinctive collection of sixteenth-century European textile art.