Art and culture

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Montalto delle Marche and its museums: Sixtus V, archaeology, ethnography, and much more!

The Museo Sistino Vescovile is based in the former seminary and provides an account of Montalto delle Marche’s Sistine history.As well as rich vestments embroidered in gold thread that belonged to the town’s first bishops, paintings and wooden sculptures, the museum also houses a 13th-century painted cross and priceless gifts presented by Sixtus V to his home town, including the Reliquary of Montalto, a 14th-century masterpiece of French metalwork, made with gold reliefs, gilded silver and enamel, and adorned with gems, pearls and a cameo.

It is a panel-shaped reliquary, withan elaborate silver pedestal surmounted by a panel depicting the Dead Christ supported by an angel, with other scenes from the Passion of Christ at the sides.The work was probably made in the workshop of the Parisian goldsmith Jan du Vivier, commissioned by the King of France, Charles V. The reliquary left the French court and went on to form part of a number of princely collections (such as the collection of Lionello d’Este in Ferrara), before arriving in the Vatican. Here it attracted the attention of Sixtus V, who decided to present it to Montalto delle Marche, his adopted town.

In the same museum, gold can also be seen in another gift presented by Sixtus V to the town:a vestment in red silk satin and gold thread, made in the mid-16th century using the or nuè technique (in this technique the gold is applied to the canvas support with the design marked out upon it, before being covered by silk threads in various colours and shades).

The Polo Museale Civico in Montalto delle Marche is housed in the town hall, built by Sixtus V between 1587 and 1588 as the governmental headquarters of the state of Montalto.

It comprises a Museo Archeologico, which covers the history of Montalto and the surrounding area from Prehistory to Roman times, the Museo Etnografico ‘L’Acqua, la Terra e la Tela’ devoted to the peasant civilization, the Pinacoteca Civica and the fascinating Carceri Sistine, with furnishings recreated on the basis of an inventory from 1604 and the narration of the accounts of the prisoners themselves, taken from historic documents and dramatized by a theatre company.

 

USEFUL INFORMATION

Museo Sistino Vescovile, Piazza Sisto V

Christmas – Easter – Summer    Scheduled opening

Entrance fee   € 1.00

 

Musei Civici, Piazza Umberto I, 12

October – June    3 pm-5 pm (Sat-Sun)

June – September    5 pm-7 pm (Mon-Sun); 4 pm-midnight (during festivities)

Entrance fee   Free of charge

 

Where?

Montalto delle Marche and its museums: Sixtus V, archaeology, ethnography, and much more!

Montalto delle Marche, AP, Italia