Museo Capitolare
The museum is arranged in 26 rooms on two floors of the Palazzo delle Canoniche. The ticket office (to the left as you enter) used to be the canons' refectory. Rooms 2-6 opposite the ticket office contain an exhibition of items from the treasury of the Duomo and of illuminated manuscripts. Room 4, the Sala Rossa (red room) was used for meetings between the canons and the bishop. The stairs in the ticket office lead down to the excavations of a papal palace (late 13th century) built for Pope Martin IV (Rooms 7-10). Excavations in 1999 revealed a stretch of Etruscan or Roman wall in Room 10 that originally formed part of the substructure of the forum. |
Room 7
An inscription exhibited in the glass cabinet at the end of the room records that Pope Pius II granted a perpetual indulgence for the completion of the new Duomo in 1494.
Room 11
This room contains fragments from some of the Renaissance altars that originally graced the Duomo:
an arch from the Altare di San Bernardino (1473) by Agostino di Duccio, from the original Cappella di San Bernardino, which was moved to the chapel opposite in 1486 (when its original chapel was re-dedicated as the Cappella di Sant' Anello) and destroyed in 1559; and
fragments of Cantagallina family's Altare di San Sebastiano (16th century), which was on the counter façade of the Duomo until 1651.
The room also contains a somewhat haphazard collection of architectural remains, some of which came from the old Duomo.
Corridor (Rooms 12 and 13)
The corridor contains a collection of 13th century sculptural fragments, many of which came from the old Duomo and were previously displayed in the cloister outside the museum.
Creation of Eve and Original Sin (12th century)
This marble relief came from the Altare della Madonna del Verde of the old Duomo. It was part of a frieze that depicted scenes from Genesis, the other parts of which have been lost. The surviving scenes depict:God blessing Eve as she emerges from Adam's side; and
Adam and Eve standing below the tree of the forbidden fruit.
A detached fresco (14th century) that was once displayed on this altar is exhibited in the Room 14 (see below).
Creation of Eve (late 13th or early 14th century)
This weathered relief by a follower of Giovanni Pisano depicts God pulling Eve from Adam's side.
Head of a deacon and tondo of Christ the Redeemer (late 13th century)
These two sculptures seem to be by the same a follower of Arnolfo di Cambio, since a characteristic criss-cross pattern is used on the vestments of both figures. The limestone head of the deacon brings to mind the deacons on the funerary monument to Cardinal de Braye in San Domenico, Orvieto, and it is possible that the Perugian deacon came from a funerary monument in the old Duomo. The tondo of the Redeemer, who clutches a small bird, is made of a different stone, but it is nonetheless possible that it came from the same monument. The monument in question might have been that of Pope Urban IV.
Head of a young man (early 14th century)
This fine architectural fragment (on the right) came from San Domenico. The 19th century art historian Valentino Martinelli attributed it to Giovanni Pisano and suggested that it once belonged to a capital there. (According to Giorgio Vasari, Giovanni Pisano built the nave of the church).
Room 14
Madonna del Verde (14th century)
This altarpiece of the Madonna and child enthroned, which is named for the Virgin's green dress, was originally in fresco in the Altare della Madonna del Verde on a pilaster in the old Duomo. (A marble relief from this altar in the corridor (Rooms 12-13) was described above). An inscription at the bottom reads "Ego mater sanctae spei" (I am the mother of holy hope). For this reason, the image was particularly venerated by new mothers, who would pray before it after they had given birth.
The fresco, which has been heavily repainted, was transferred to canvas in 1466 and moved to the new Altare della Madonna del Verde (1477) in the right aisle of the new Duomo. This altar was dismantled in 1849 and later re-erected in the baptistery. The altarpiece was moved to Sant' Angelo at that point, and moved again to the museum in 1979.
Room 15
Madonna della Costa (12th century)
This polychrome wooden statue of the Madonna and Child came from the Chiesetta della Madonna della Costa on Monte Acuto. The Virgin is portrayed as an old lady, and the Child, who also has an old and sad face, adopts the orant (ancient praying) position.
Triptych (ca. 1315)
This triptych by Meo di Guido da Siena, which as probably commissioned for San Domenico Vecchio, is in its original frame. The main panels depict the Madonna and Child with SS John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and the small triangular panels above depict the Christ the Redeemer with SS Peter and Paul. It is illustrated on the website of LinkTour.it.
Madonna del Latte (14th century)
The altarpiece, which is attributed to the Sienese Andrea Vanni, is of unknown provenance. The altarpiece depicts the half-length Madonna and Child with the baby Jesus holding a finch. Smaller figures of two prophets flank the head of the Madonna, and the figures of the Annunciation appear in tondi in the spandrels above.
Triptych (14th century)
This triptych, which is attributed to the Florentine Agnolo Gaddi or his workshop, is of unknown provenance. it was first documented in the 19th century in the canons' sacristy in the Palazzo delle Canoniche. The rectangular side panels do not relate dimensionally to the central panel and probably came originally from a different work by the same artist.
The central panel depicts the Madonna del Latte crowned by angels with SS James and Andrew.
The side panels depict: SS Herculanus and John the Evangelist (on the left); and SS Peter and Paul (on the right).
The tondi in the predella depict the Pietà, the Virgin and St John the Evangelist.
Death of the Virgin (1432)
The inscription on this panel from the Duomo records that Pietro di Giovanni and his parishioners commissioned it in 1432 in honour of God and the Virgin. Two coats of arms flank the inscription: one is the griffin of Perugia and the other probably belonged to the commissioner. The altarpiece, which is in an anachronistic style, depicts the Virgin on her death bed, surrounded by the Apostles.
Pietà (1486)
This panel at the top of the stairs, which is dated by inscription and attributed to Bartolomeo Caporali, came from the parish church of Sant' Enea (Sant' Agnese) outside Perugia.
Room 17
Processional Icon (1453)
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| Reproduction of this icon which is used in the annual procession |
The icon depicts:
Christ the Redeemer on one side; and
the Coronation of the Virgin on the other.
Christ, the Virgin and saints (1489)
This panel is signed by Ludovico d’ Angelo and dated. It was first recorded in the late 18th century in the sacristy of the Oratorio di SS Simone e Fiorenzo, although there is nothing in its iconography to suggest that it was commissioned for this oratory. It moved to the Duomo in 1863.
The altarpiece depicts five standing figures in front of a rectangular tabernacle set in a landscape:
Christ blessing, at the centre;
the Virgin and St Antony Abbot to the left; and
SS Francis and Jerome to the right.
Room 18
Gonfalone di San Fiorenzo (1476)
The Servites of San Fiorenzo commissioned this banner, which is attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli and dated by inscription, during an outbreak of plague, using money left to them in the will of one Petrus Galiotti Gregorii Cantagallina. It was kept in a tabernacle (1480) that was paid for by the Commune, which was placed on one of the altars in the church.
In the 16th century, the Confraternita di SS Simone e Fiorenzo had the right to carry it when it was taken in procession during outbreaks of the plague. The brothers still performed this function as late as the 17th century, notwithstanding the poor condition of the banner. By the early 19th century, they had become the official custodians of the banner, and in 1807 they moved it to a new altar that they had constructed in the right transept of the church. It was moved to the museum in 2006.
The banner depicts the Madonna with an extraordinary image of the naked baby Jesus standing in a basket of red roses with his arms outstretched, already carrying the marks of the Crucifixion. An angel below carries a scroll with a long poem that exhorts the citizens of Perugia to mend their evil ways. SS Sebastian and Florentius intercede for the city alongside two of the seven founders of the Servite order, both of whom were later canonised:
St Philip Benizi, who was Prior General of the Servites from 1267 until his death in 1285 and was the first Servite to be canonised (in 1671); and
St Peregrine Laziosi. As a young man, he slapped Philip Benizi during an affray in ca. 1290, and was converted when his victim turned the other cheek. He became a Servite and later cured himself of cancer of the foot by prayer. He died (from other causes) in 1345 and was canonised in 1726.
The predella shows scenes from the life of St Philip Benizi and and two posthumous miracles performed by St Peregrine Laziosi.
Panels from an Organ Screen (1513)
These panels by Giannicola di Paolo, which were removed when the organ screen of the Duomo was demolished in 1784, comprise:
a tondo of the martyrdom of St Lawrence; and
panels of SS Peter and Paul.
Another panel from the screen now forms the lunette of the altarpiece in the Cappella del Gonfalone of the Duomo.
Room 19
Sant' Onofrio Altarpiece (1484)
This altarpiece, which is among the earliest of the surviving works of Luca Signorelli, is first recorded in 1568 in the Cappella di Sant' Onofrio, which was then in the right transept of the Duomo. When this chapel was destroyed 1608, the altarpiece was moved to another location in the Duomo before becoming the major exhibit in the newly instituted Museo Capitolare in 1923. The original frame was probably lost at that point, but it is known to have had an inscription that established the fact that Bishop Jacopo Vannucci had founded the chapel and that his successor and nephew, Bishop Dionisio Vannucci installed the altarpiece in it in 1484.
The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Humphrey (Onofrio in Italian, dressed as an unkempt hermit), John the Baptist and Lawrence and an unidentified bishop. This last figure is sometime identified as St Herculanus, although this is unlikely since the figure does not have a halo. Others suggest that it is a portrait of Jacopo Vannucci, although the prominent representation of a donor would have been unusual at this time.
St Nicholas Altarpiece (1529)
Braccino di Pietro commissioned this altarpiece from Pompeo Cocchi for the Cappella di San Nicolò of the Duomo in 1519. The work was attributed to Pinturicchio until a restoration carried out in the 19th century revealed the name of the artist and the date of its execution (some 10 years after the date of the commission).
The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child enthroned with:
St Nicholas of Bari, who carries the three bags of gold which he used to save the daughters of a poor man from prostitution; and
St Laurence, who holds the grill on which he was martyred.
Room 20
Resurrected Christ (1567)
This fragment of a marble statue is attributed to Vincenzo Dantiand seems to have belonged to one of the thirteen figures that he sculpted for the altar (1567) in the Cappella di San Bernardino. This altar was destroyed in 1797, and is now known only from a drawing (1793) that still belongs to the Collegio della Mercanzia. [Head of a bearded man ??] (The Museum also attributes a small head of the Virgin and three tiny cherubs to this altar, although there are no comparable figure shown on the drawing.)
St Mary Magdalen (ca. 1662)
This altarpiece, which is attributed to Gian Domenico Cerrini (il Cavalier Perugino), is of unknown provenance.
Madonna and Child (17th century)
This altarpiece by Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia came from the nunnery of Santa Lucia. The full length figure of the Madonna portrays her as the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.
Return to the first cloister of the Palazzo delle Canoniche.