The museum

More than 200 works of art, 440 square meters of exhibition over 3 floors

the diocesan museum of gallipoli

 

The Diocesan Museum - Section of Gallipoli was officially inaugurated on the 12th July 2004, on the initiative of the Diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli, with the contribution of the Italian Episcopal Conference, the European Union and the Apulia Region.

It is meant to represent not only a cultural hub but also an instrument to the service of the memory and the pastoral of the local Church, a place where the Christian origins of the territory can be rediscovered through the signs of faith left by the generations in time.

The Museum occupies the site of the old Seminary adjacent to the Cathedral of St. Agatha, in the heart of the historic centre of Gallipoli. The Seminary was built in its Baroque style between 1750 and 1759, thanks to Bishops Brancone and Savastano and it was used for its original scope for more than two centuries until about 1970.

Left almost intact in its valuable architectural structure, the Seminary has been restored several times in order to preserve its original character and also to adapt it to its new function as the location of the Diocesan Museum. The adaptation to museum standards, started in 1999 and completed in 2004, has made it possible to add value to the whole building of about 440 square meters , distributed over three floors, without deleting the traces of its previous use.

Between 2015 and 2016, with the investment of funds from the European Union and the Apulia Region, a further restoration project has been carried out involving the architectural structure of the building and the vast majority of the paintings and statues on display. Also, the collection has been enriched with the addition of new works of art and the museum display has been improved.

Museum Director:

Mons. Giuliano Santantonio

don Giuliano Santantonio

statua san sebastiano argento museo diocesano gallipoli
The patron Saints
The papier-mâché
The church bells
The epigraphs

GROUND

FLOOR

On this floor you can visit the ticket office and bookshop which are now located where there once was the kitchen of the Seminary, and the old Refectory with its original furnishings.

ritratto vescovo museo diocesano gallipoli
The patron Saints
The paintings
The treasures
The religious ornaments
The reliquares
The papier-mâché

FIRST

FLOOR

The old chapel hosts, amongst the rest, the reliquaries and the silver statues of the patron Saints San Sebastiano and Sant’Agata.

croce pettorale in oto museo diocesano fallipoli
The patron Saints
The papier-mâché
The Quaremba Rooma
The vestments and the liturgical colors

SECOND

FLOOR

All the ornaments and objects used during the Liturgy and the celebration of Sacraments are exposed in this part of the Museum.

terrazza museo diocesano gallipoli
The panoramic terraces

THIRD FLOOR

The panoramic terraces

The wide terraces, on the third floor, offer to visitors a beautiful view over the historic centre of Gallipoli from its highest point.

OPENING HOURS AND ADMISSION FEES

June to September

Tuesday to Friday: from 10.30 to 13.00 and from 17.30 to 21.00

Saturday and Sunday: from 10.30 to 13.00 and from 17.30 to 21.30


Monday closed

October to May

Tuesday to Thursday from 9.30 to 13.00.

Fridays and Saturdays from 9.30 to 13.00 and from 16.00 to 19.00

Sundays and public holidays from 16,00 to 19,00


Monday closed.

Book here your guided tour of the museum and of the city of Gallipoli.


Required *

 

A museum is a place where one should lose one’s head. (Renzo Piano)