Museo Nazionale del
Ducato di Spoleto
This museum was opened in 2007 in the Rocca to house exhibits that document the history of the Duchy of Spoleto.
Early Christian Period In 354, Pope Liberius wrote to Bishop Caecilianus of Spoleto seeking his support in the dispute with the Emperor Constantius about the status of Athanasius, the anti-Arian patriarch of Alexandria. This is the earliest surviving evidence of the Christian diocese of Spoleto, but it was clearly well-established by the time of this correspondence. Most of the physical evidence of the early Christian community is funerary in nature: sarcophagi and funerary inscriptions. These lead us to the early cemetery churches that ringed the city, most of which were rebuilt in the 12th century. |
Room 1
Sarcophagus of Pontia (early 4th century)
The long inscription on this sarcophagus records that it belonged to Pontia, a Roman matron who died during a journey and was buried in the Oratorio di San Giovenale at Macerino (near Carsulae).
Sarcophagus of Lucius Baebius Sabinus (late 4th century)
This sarcophagus was found in the church of San Sabino.
Sarcophagus of the Good Shepherd (5th century)
This lovely sarcophagus is of unknown provenance. The central relief depicts a man (presumably the deceased) in a toga with his arms raised in prayer. The reliefs to the sides depict Christ as the Good Shepherd.
Room 2
Funerary inscription for Bishop Spes (ca. 380)
This marble inscription came from the church of SS Apostoli. It was recorded in situ under the pavement of the apse in the 19th century. It formed the epitaph of Bishop Spes, who is thought to have died in ca. 380.
The inscription reads:
DEPOSITIO SANCTAE MEMORIAE VENERABILIS SPEIs AEPISCOPI
DIE VIIII KAL DECB
QUI VIXIT IN SACERDOTI O ANNIS XXXII
Here lies Bishop Spes of venerable memory, who died on 21st November (literally, nine days before 1st December), having lived as bishop for 32 years.
Inscribed architrave (mid 5th century)
This architrave seems to have formed part of it portico of the first church of San Pietro. It was later
embedded in the wall of the adjacent church of San Silvestro (see Walk II).
The architrave contains an inscription (5th century) that refers to a construction
project that was undertaken with the help of God.
Room 4
Mosaic (6th century)
These fragments of a mosaic floor were discovered in the 1920s during the excavation of the Abbazia di San Marco.
Hermits of MontelucoThe earliest surviving reference to a hermitage in "a desert place" near Spoleto comes in an account in the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I (late 6th century). It relates to St Isaac, a religious man from "Syria" who arrived in Spoleto "at the time that the Goths first invaded Italy" and "lived almost until the last days of the Goths". This probably places the account in the reigns of the Gothic kings of Italy, Odoacer (476-93) and Theodoric (493-526). St Isaac's community lived on Monteluco, which had been a sacred place since at least Roman times. Pope Gregory refers to many men who left the city and lived under the guidance of St Isaac. The focus of the community was a "little cottage", and St Isaac resisted offers of land and goods for the erection of an abbey. This became the church of San Giuliano. The hermits on Monteluco lived in grottoes across the mountain, while San Giuliano provided a focus for the communal services and for the practical support of the monks. Similar communities grew up in other parts of the region, often similarly inspired by monks from the east. The eremetical tradition survived on Monteluco into the 19th century. |
Room 5
Sarcophagus of St Isaac (12th century)
This sarcophagus was originally in San Giuliano, the church on Monteluco that St Isaac founded in 528. His relics were placed in it when the church was rebuilt in the 12th century. The monastery was suppressed in 1502 and the relics of St Isaac were moved to Sant' Ansano. The sarcophagus remained empty and was sold in 1810. The Commune acquired it in 1902, thanks to the intervention of Giuseppe Sordini.
The central relief depicts Christ in a mandorla surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists. The figures to the sides are:
- an Apostle, a monk (perhaps St Isaac) and the Virgin to the left; and
a monk (perhaps St Martial, a companion of St Isaac), an Apostle and a bishop to the right.
Sarcophagus of Blessed Gregory (1486-8)
Blessed Gregory was a hermit in Monteluco in the 14th century. He became
the object of a cult after his death in 1473. This marble sarcophagus was made for his relics as part of an extensive programme of decoration of a chapel (ca. 1473 ) in the right aisle of the Duomo that was dedicated to him. It was removed when the chapel was demolished as part of the
re-modeling of the Duomo in 1785-92 and entered the civic collection in 1910. (An altarpiece from the chapel, which depicts the Madonna and Child with St Clement I and the Blessed Gregory, is now in the left transept of the Duomo.)
The relief on the front of the sarcophagus depicts Gregory in prayer outside his hermitage as an angel appears to him bearing a scroll. The long inscription says that he lived a celibate life as a hermit and that performed miracles after his death.
Lombard Duchy of Spoleto (591 - 779)The Lombard invasion of Italy began in 568, when King Alboin
led his followers over the Alps. Pavia fell to him in 572 after a
siege of three years, after which it became the capital of the Lombard
Kingdom of Italy. A Lombard mercenary, Ariulf
established the independent Duchy of Spoleto in ca. 591. The Byzantine
Exarch simultaneously established a land corridor between his residual
strongholds at Rome and Ravenna, and this had the unintended effect of
preserving Ariulf's independence from the Lombard Kingdom. |
Room 6
Finds from the Portone Necropolis (ca. 570 –670)
This necropolis was discovered near Nocera Umbra in 1897. It consisted of some 166 tombs that were arranged in line along an east-west axis and belonged to a number of family groups of various social standings. The tombs were discovered in tact and excavated systematically, which allowed the examination of the way these families had adapted over time to their contacts with Roman culture.
The people in the oldest tombs were buried in traditional Lombard costume, but those buried towards the end of the period had adopted the dress of their Roman neighbours. There was little evidence of their religious beliefs, except for a lovely bone casket (6th century) carved with a relief of the sacrifice of Isaac and Daniel in the lions’ den. This is now (like most of the grave goods from the site) in the Museo dell’ Alto Medioevo, Rome.
The men were all warriors, many of them cavalrymen, and they were buried with their weapons.
The women were buried with personal items that included sophisticated jewelry made from glass, amber, rock crystal, amethyst, pearls, silver and gold.
A number of the tombs belonged to children, who were also buried with their jewelry. This example, a child's bracelet (6th or 7th century) came from Tomb 102.
Carolingian and Ottonian Periods (779 - 1155)Charlemagne
ruled the Duchy through members of the noble families that had
accompanied him into Italy. As he and his successors struggled with
events nearer home, these local nobles became increasingly
independent. Nevertheless, the Carolingin emperors retained at least nominal power until the death of Charles the Bald in 888. Duke Guido III then had himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor and King of Italy (891-4). Pope Formosus crowned Lambert II
as co-ruler with his father and he
continued as sole ruler from the death of his father until his own
death in 898. From this point, the Duchy fell into decline. The history of the city comes into focus again in 1155, when it offended the newly crowned Emperor Frederick I and he burned it to the ground. |
Room 7
Relief (8th century)
This decorative relief came from San Pietro.
Capital (8th century)
This carved capital came from a column in Sant' Agata. Room 8
Relief (late 8th century)
This decorative relief came from the church of SS Apostoli.
Annunciation (9th century)
This marble relief came from the church of SS Apostoli.
Communal Period (1155-1250)The city of Spoleto was probably under the government of a
Commune from about the mid 12th century, although it is not documented
until 1174. As the city recovered from its destruction at the hands of Emperor Frederick I, there was a flowering of art and architecture. It oscillated between the spheres of influence of popes and emperors until the death of the Emperor Frederick II in 1250. From this point, the city and the Duchy of Spoleto were more consistently part of the Papal States. |
Room 9
Martyrdom of SS John and Paul (late 12th century)
This important fresco, which is attributed to Alberto "Sotio", was detached from the crypt of SS Giovanni e Paolo in 1961.
- To the left, the Emperor Julian the Apostate orders the brothers' execution.
- To the right, they are beheaded.
- In the centre, they stand at the gates of Heaven, with Christ in judgment above.
Lunette (12th or 13th century)
[More] Martyrdom of St Blaise (12th or 13th century)
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 Detail |
Symbol of St Luke (13th century)
This marble statue came from the Duomo.
Christus Patiens (13th century)
This painted Crucifix was originally in the former nunnery of SS Stefano e Tommaso (Santa Maria della Stella). It depicts:
Christ in judgment appears at the top;
the Virgin faints and is supported by her ladies on the left; and
[Longinus and which other figures are on the right?].
Christus Triumphans (ca. 1310)
This painted Crucifix, which is attributed to the Maestro di Cesi, was originally in the former nunnery of SS Stefano e Tommaso (Santa Maria della Stella). Its iconography of the living Christ is unusual for a Crucifix of so late a date.
Christ in judgment appears at the top;
the Virgin and St John the Evangelist stand to the sides;
SS Stephen and Thomas stand at the ends of the horizontal beam of the cross; and
SS Francis and Dominic kneel at its foot.
Gothic Period (ca. 1250 - 1450) After the death of the Emperor Frederick II, Spoleto enjoyed a period of relative peace under Bishop Bartolomeo Accorombani
(1236-71). However, the departure of the papacy for Avignon in 1309
led to decades of civil war between Guelf and Ghibelline factions in
the city. This led to its occupation by Perugia (allegedly on behalf
of the papacy) in 1324. Cardinal Albornoz took Spoleto in 1354 and established his headquarters in the city. He made it independent of Perugia and destroyed the Perugian fortress. He then commissioned the Rocca (1354-70), which became the residence of the papal rectors of the Duchy of Spoleto. |
Room 11
Reliquaries (late 13th or early 14th century)
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These reliquaries came from the Benedictine nunnery of Sant’ Alò (see Walk I). The nunnery closed in 1974, when the nuns moved to Trevi, but the Commune managed to acquire the reliquaries in 1982.
The collection includes two originally two double-sided reliquaries that were probably commissioned to house a collection of relics that
Pope Gregory IX gave to the nuns when they were in their first nunnery,
San Paolo inter Vineas. The painted scenes on them are the autograph work of the Maestro di Sant' Alò:
Each side of the double-sided Crucifix depicts Christus Patiens with the Virgin and St John the Evangelist at the extremes of the cross.
On the side illustrated above:
SS Mary Magdalene, Paul, Peter and John the Baptist flank the body of Christ;
St Francis kneels at the foot of the cross; and
a number of relics are housed between painted angels at the top of the cross.
On the other side:
a group of soldiers surround the body of Christ, one of whom pierces His side;
St Clare kneels at the foot of the cross; and
an inscription at the top of the cross identifies the relics. These include relics of all the saints illustrated and a relic of the True Cross.
The two reliquaries with pictures of saints originally formed a single, two-sided reliquary. The long inscriptions under the visible relics identify them as belonging to the saints depicted below.
The icon (ca. 1200) of Christ now exhibited between these last two reliquaries seems also to have been a gift to the nuns from Pope Gregory IX. It was probably painted in Venice and was subsequently enclosed in the present gilded silver reliquary (18th century).
Room 13
Madonna and Child (14th century)
This detached fresco is from SS Trinità (see Walk I).
Reliefs (late 13th or early 14th century)
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These marble reliefs of knights are from the [Ponte della Ponzianina].
St Pontian (14th century)
This wooden figure from San Ponziano probably lay on a sarcophagus that housed the relics of the saint.
Renaissance Period (from ca. 1450)The arrival of Benozzo Gozzoli in Montefalco in ca. 1450 and the episcopacy of Cardinal Berardo Eroli (1449-74) stimulated a taste for Renaissance art in Spoleto. It was probably Cardinal Eroli who was responsible for the arrival of Filippo Lippi in Spoleto in 1466 to begin the frescoes in the apse of the Duomo. |
Room 14
Architrave (1463)
These surviving fragments from a marble sculpted architrave are from the Duomo. The inscription gives the date and the name of the donor, Canon Filippo di Jacopo.
Triptych (ca. 1475)
This triptych, which is attributed to Nicolò di Liberatore, called l' Alunno, came from the high altar of the Eremo di Santa Maria delle Grazie,
Monteluco. The panels were placed in a Baroque frame when the oratory
was rebuilt in 1727, and passed to the Pinacoteca Comunale in 1921.
The panels depict:
the standing Virgin crowned by angels;
the Madonna and Child enthroned; and
- St John the Baptist.
Room 15
Madonna and Child with Franciscan saints (ca. 1450)
This altarpiece, which is somewhat tentatively attributed to Jacopo Vincioli, came from the altar in SS Simone e Giuda that housed the relics of the Blessed Simon of Collazzone. It was transferred to the Pinacoteca when the church was suppressed in 1863.
The altarpiece depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Francis, Bernardino of Siena and Antony of Padua and the Blessed Simon. He is identified by the words “Sanctus Simon”
inscribed in his halo despite the fact that he was never canonised.
SS John the Baptist and Peter (1466)
This panel by Jacopo Vincioli from SS Simone e Giuda was probably part of a polyptych. [Signed and dated ?]
Madonna and Child enthroned (1494)
This altarpiece by Antonello de Saliba, which is signed and dated, came from the church of Santa Maria in the once prosperous village of Montesanto Vigi, outside Spoleto.
The main panel is based on the central panel of the important San Cassiano Altarpiece by Antonello's uncle, Antonello da Messina from San Cassiano, Venice.
The lunette contains a figure of God the Father between angels in tondi.