Museum of the Chapter of San Lorenzo
Inside the Island of San Lorenzo in Perugia, the architectural complex that includes the Cathedral of the same name and the Perugia Sotterranea, is the Museum of the Chapter, an exhibition space that preserves valuable artefacts and paintings, witnesses to the city's great cultural and liturgical heritage.
The work of the Perugia Brigade of Friends of Art
The history of the Museum of the Chapter of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo began in 1923, with the start of the recovery and conservation operation desired by the Chapter, and was completed about fifty years later, thanks to the work of art historian Umberto Gnoli and the Perugia Brigade of Friends of Art. This group of illustrious Perugian personalities promoted and enhanced the city's historical and artistic heritage with restorations, events and conferences.
Their action was decisive for the first mounting of a valuable museum collection open to the public. The latest exhibition, exactly one hundred years after its opening, was opened in February 2023.
A museum tour with a thematic character
The current museum tour is organised thematically and covers painting, sculpture, goldsmithing, miniature art and textiles. Thanks to modern explanatory panels, the visitor is accompanied in the discovery of the history of the Diocese of Perugia, its main personalities and the deep ties it established with the civil society of its territory and the artists of the time.
This thematic rather than chronological itinerary is reflected in the choice of naming its rooms after important personalities in the historical and artistic spheres, such as Leo XIII, the pontiff and bishop of Perugia from 1846 to 1878; Agostino di Duccio, an influential sculptor and architect from the mid-15th century; and Luca Signorelli, one of the main exponents of Renaissance painting.
There are also spaces dedicated to specific themes, such as the Hall of the Holy Ring, which traces the history of an important popular tradition in Perugia; the Perugia of the Popes, which documents the presence of the popes in the city through artefacts and paintings; and Hope and reliance, with devotional works of sacred art.
On the occasion of the museum's centenary, the Reliquary of the Holy Ring is temporarily on display in the Hall of the Holy Ring.
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