Museo Colle del Duomo

The Diocesan Museum on Colle del Duomo brings together Viterbo's archaeology, paintings and sacred objects. Created for the Jubilee year 2000, its collections include material from the city's papal history.

Why it matters

Established by the diocese for the 2000 Jubilee, the museum gathers three strands of Viterbo's history. Archaeological displays include Villanovan, Etruscan, Roman and medieval finds, including material from excavations. The picture gallery contains diocesan paintings from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. The treasury, known as the Tesoro dei Papi, preserves vestments and sacred objects associated with popes who served in Viterbo, including Giovanni XXI in the 1270s and Pius IX in the nineteenth century.

What to notice

The Madonna della Carbonara is a fourteenth-century altarpiece; the original is in the museum, while a reproduction is in the cathedral. The gallery includes works by Benvenuto di Giovanni, Bartolomeo Cavarozzi and Domenico Corvi. A Crucifixion has traditionally been attributed to Michelangelo, though the attribution remains uncertain. The treasury includes a twelfth-century robe associated with Saint Boniface and a portrait of Innocent XIII, who was bishop of Viterbo from 1712 to 1719 before his election as pope. The nearby cathedral, sacristy and papal palace form part of the historic architectural context of the collections.

Context and history

Viterbo's diocese assembled the museum for the millennium Jubilee, drawing on parish and episcopal holdings. The galleries include Gerolamo da Cremona's 1472 panel Redentore benedicente, made for the cathedral's left nave, and paintings from churches across the diocese. The sacristy associated with the complex was commissioned by Cardinal Muzio Gallo and is lined with walnut root and gold.