Museo della Porziuncola

The Porziuncola Museum in Santa Maria degli Angeli presents art and objects connected with the Franciscan movement and the history of the Porziuncola chapel. It occupies the Conventino, a surviving part of the friary beside the great basilica.

Why it matters

The museum preserves works associated with the chapel where the Franciscan order took shape and with the centuries of devotion that followed. Its collection spans early Franciscan art, liturgical objects and later works from the basilica and convent.

What to notice

Among the principal works are a crucifix by Giunta Pisano dated around 1236, a panel of Saint Francis and angels attributed to the Maestro di San Francesco, and an altarpiece by Andrea della Robbia from around 1475. The collection also includes a cope embroidered with Marian scenes and a panel of the Madonna del Latte.

Context and history

The Conventino survived the construction of the larger basilica over the Porziuncola and was restored in 1923. The museum was reorganised in six thematic rooms for the Jubilee of 2000, tracing the earlier chapel, the origins of the Franciscan order and the development of the basilica.