Carrara marble Giovanni Duprè 1871 cm. 52×60 The white marble bust by artist Giovanni Duprè was part of the funerary monument of Letizia Bonaparte (1804-71) princess of Canino (VT) who was buried in the now closed chapel dedicated to S. Francesco Saverio in the Cathedral of Viterbo. The princess was a daughter of Luciano…
Gold, silver and semiprecious stones 17th-20th centuries In this display case we can admire many chalices dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Notable is the chalice decorated with sapphires and rubies donated by Cardinal Bernardo Pianetti. The walls of the room hold 165 ex voto, mainly praying figures or body parts from…
molten silver, etched, engraved, gilded, painted box 14th century – angel 15th century (repaired in 1481) Anonymous silversmith of Viterbo area height 60 cm, width 29 cm, base width 38 cm The reliquary shaped like an offering angel holds the remains of St. John Baptist’s (San Giovanni Battista) jawbone. The finding of the relic…
Gilded silver 15th century The examples of chalices of the 1400s from Rome and Lazio all have a model: that by Siena goldsmith Guccio di Rannaia created for Niccolò IV and the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi. The chalice of Canepina falls into this typology with its conical shape and flared base. It…
Gold and Silver 16th-20th centuries In this display case besides a small temple shaped Gothic style reliquary in silver and coral there is a collection of patens, incense boats and other objects used during the mass and sacraments. The paten is a gold or gilded metal plate used to contain the host before and…
Gilded silver 15th century Domenico Aloisi Reliquary of St. Lawrence (San Lorenzo) in gilded silver made in 1489 by Domenico Aloisi. The reliquary has a hexagonal base of 15 cm. with decorated bands interrupted by a large knot decorated with lion heads. The body of the reliquary is a hexagonal temple, each side framed…
Linen, silk and gold embroidery 12th century (?) The four vestments belonging to St. Bonifacio (San Bonifacio), Bishop of Ferento came from Ferento which was destroyed by the people of Viterbo in 1172. The alb, a white liturgical robe in linen that is commonly called shirt. The amito a rectangle of linen that covers…
Gilded wood or silver papier mache 17th-18th centuries The Museum has many reliquaries of different materials and shapes. The most common are the wooden box type with various decorations. Others are in metal in different architectural styles or similar to a monstrance. Others are similar to body parts from which the relic came, known…
Ink on parchment with miniatures 13th-15th centuries cm. 75×55 Antifonals are liturgical books used in the Catholic ritual of the Canonic Hours, containing the sung part of the liturgy. Those exhibited here are made using very high quality parchment and were found under the ruins of the church of S. Sisto after the 1944…
Silver embossed, engraved, chiseled, golden, gilded copper and gems 1440-1450 d.C. Anonymous silversmith of Viterbo area height 52 cm, width 50 cm, depth 30 cm Bust of San Sisto II – the reliquary of San Sisto II (became pope in 257, martyrized in 258 during the reign of Valeriano) from the Church of San Sisto,…
