Luogo - Museum
Museo civico di Santa Croce
Where
Piazza San Francesco, Umbertide (Perugia)
Santa Croce Civic Museum
The Museo Civico di Santa Croce is housed in the former Church of Santa Croce, outside the town wall-belt of Umbertide, in the old “lower-burgh” of Fratta, in Piazza San Francesco, next to the churches of San Francesco and San Bernardino.
In the 13th century, in the area—later occupied by Santa Croce—there was a small church dedicated to SS Peter and Paul that had already been used as an oratory for the Confraternity of the Disciples of the Disciplined of St Mary.
Inaugurated in 1998, the Museum of Santa Croce has the peculiar characteristic that almost all of the works preserved here are still on the same altars they were originally executed for. The work of the collection of major relevance is the Deposition from the Cross of Luca Signorelli. On the lateral altars there are canvases with religious paintings from between the 17th and 18th century and a wooden sculpture portraying St Rocco of Romano Alberti, called “Nero” from Sansepolcro, coming from the close by Church of San Francesco. In an internal room on the first floor, there is the Madonna and Child in Glory, between Angels and Saints of Niccolò Circignani, called “il Pomarancio”, also coming from the close by Church of San Francesco.
The former Church of Santa Croce is also used for recording Classical Music, an activity in which many renowned international singers and directors participate in. It is also a stage for prestigious concert reviews.