Museo dei Portici

The Museo dei Portici in Viterbo presents paintings and civic documents within the Palazzo dei Priori, the city's historic seat of government.

Why it matters

The museum connects Viterbo's Renaissance art with the city's papal and civic history. Its collection includes two major works by Sebastiano del Piombo and a document associated with the first conclave.

What to notice

Sebastiano del Piombo's Pietà, painted between 1512 and 1516, and his Flagellation of 1525 are central works. The Pietà originally stood over an altar in San Francesco alla Rocca and is now represented there by a copy. The museum has also displayed a parchment record of the conclave held in Viterbo from 1267 to 1271.

Context and history

The Museo dei Portici is a branch of the Museo Civico Luigi Rossi Danielli, housed in a wing of the Palazzo dei Priori. The palace was first planned for the Governor of the Patrimony of Saint Peter in Tuscia and passed to the Priori in 1510. The transfer of the Pietà from San Francesco alla Rocca followed wartime damage to that church. The conclave parchment was displayed in 2021 to mark the 750th anniversary of the election's conclusion.