Instituted in 1980, the Museum is placed in the Episcopal Palace that, from the XI century to the late XVII century, gave hospitality to the Bishops of the old Diocese of Bisceglie. Placed next to the Romanesque Cathedral, in the very heart of the old town centre, the building was restructured and enlarged by Bishop Pompeo Sarnelli between 1693 and 1707. In the foyer it presents a spectacular staircase, with arches, columns and stone balustrades.
The exhibition, on the second floor, is divided in three sections:
The Sarnelli Apartment: the rooms the Bishop had made his own and his successors residence present wooden decorated ceilings (1696);
Ex voto jewels' collection. The section, dedicated to women, offers a rich panoramic view of the precious ornament and feminine clothing between mid XIX century and early XX century.
Treasures of the Cathedral: goblets, pyxes, crosses and other sacred artifacts in gold and silver (XV-XIX sec.). Of special interest, an illuminated Evangeliarium, in XII century Beneventan writing.
Two more rooms guard paintings and furniture transferred from the Cathedral between 1965 and 1972 when, to restore the temple to its original Romanesque style, the artistic proofs gathered along the previous centuries were cancelled.
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