Museo Diocesano Conversano-Monopoli

The Diocesan Museum of Conversano was established on 29th June 2002 on the premises of the Monastery of St. Benedict, a famous and ancient Benedictine abbey nullius (IX century), first male and then female, with the advent of the Cistercian Dameta Paleologo (1266) until the Napoleonic suppression of 1810. The cenobitic complex, a place of worship for years, is located in the church which is opened daily for religious ceremonies and is a cultural centre for the presence of the Archaeological Museum and the Library of the Monastery. It is also part of the urban environment of the beautiful old town of Conversano, the city was once the location of Acquaviva d’Aragona from the tenth century bishopric of the diocese and famous for the presence of “mitrate” abbesses. The museum reflects the area’s history through the material evidence of the events of lais, clergy and religious rulers of the city. Not secondary is the experience and the life of people, which with its customs and byword, with his devotions and his saints was able to convey a heritage - with intrinsic demo-ethno-anthropological value for posterity.