Museo Diocesano "Monsignor Cesare Recanatini"
The location of the museum is certainly prestigious: the Old Bishop's Palace, situated on the hilltop of Guasco, from the harbor and the old town is, together with the adjacent Romanesque Cathedral of San Ciriaco, the testimony and the symbol of the splendor of the city. The layout of the museum is arranged over two floors respecting the modern museological criteria: standard systems, security systems, elimination of architectural barriers, specialized library and sale of publications. The works, in 18 rooms, have been arranged either by following a process that according to chronological thematic clusters. It's possible, visiting the Museum, go over the highlights of art and history of the area. The collections contained therein are significant both from the point of view of quantity (over 460) that by qualitatively; they include sculptural, stone fragments, inscriptions, parchments, precious fabrics and tapestries, a collection of coins, jewelery, crockery, tables and painted canvas. Some works of exceptional value as the sarcophagus of Gorgonio of the fourth century, the Gospels of St. Marcellinus of the sixth century, the silk cloth of San Ciriaco of the tenth century, the stone parapet of the twelfth century, the Treasure of the Cathedral, the boards painted Marche school of the fifteenth century and the four Flemish tapestries woven at the beginning of '600, the cartoons drawn by Rubens, alone justify a visit to the Museum; it, however, was not designed as a mere container of relevances artistic but according to a path full of testimonials and references the history of the Catholic community of Ancona, so each piece is a piece of this irreplaceable cultural journey. There are several levels of interpretation of the precious objects in the Museum: the aesthetic and artistic, the iconology, technical, historical and liturgical and devotiona. For a complete understanding of the work of art, all these aspects are inseparable and, thanks to a competent staff available to the visitor, making the tours very pleasent.
