Museum of Sacred Art, Pietro Spinucci Civic Library and Emidio Saladini Study Center (Comunanza)

History of the Museo di arte sacra and the library of Comunanza

The library opened to the public in 2008. It is run by the local branch of the Archeoclub d'Italia. It grew from two donations. The first came from Professor Pietro Spinucci, born in Comunanza, formerly a lecturer and later rector of the Università di Lingue Straniere di Verona. The second, larger one came from the heirs of Count Emidio Saladini di Rovetino.

In 2007, after the count's death, his niece Countess Maria Silvia Saladini gave part of his books to the library. The count was known as a film critic. A few years later the countess added rare books on cinema, films, a projector and antique furniture. The Centro Studi Emidio Saladini conte di Rovetino di Arte e Cinematografia, a study center for art and cinema, was inaugurated in October 2010.

The museum of sacred art was established in December 1999.

What to see in the Museo di arte sacra in Comunanza

The museum mainly holds goldsmith work. Among the most notable pieces are an old temple-shaped reliquary and an 18th-century processional cross, with an older Christ attributed to the Ascoli goldsmith Pietro Vannini. There is also an 18th-century silver chalice, the work of a Roman silversmith, with three saints seated on its foot. Among the paintings is a Madonna della cintola (Madonna of the Girdle).

The study center keeps documents on Saladini's writings and material on cinema. Among the pieces is a projector from the 1920s with original reels of silent films from the same period. The permanent exhibition on the Ghezzi recalls two artists who lived in Baroque Rome.

The library has books of American and European literature in the original language, 20th-century poetry, theater, art and nonfiction.

Visiting the Museo di arte sacra in Comunanza

The museum, library and study center each have their own days and hours, to be checked before visiting.

Guided tours of the rooms, the museum of sacred art and the historic center are available on request. The building is also a tourist information point all year round.

Where the Museo di arte sacra in Comunanza is located

The library occupies the raised ground floor of Palazzo Pascali, in the historic center of Comunanza, which stands on the right bank of the Aso river at 448 m above sea level.

Around the Museo di arte sacra in Comunanza

Comunanza stands on the site of ancient Novana. Excavations have uncovered Roman baths, protected by a roof since 2019. In the historic center there are a temple cornice and a fragment of a shrine. In the hamlet of Gerosa a humpback Roman bridge crosses the Aso along the ancient Via Salaria Gallica. At Santa Maria stands the church of Santa Maria a Terme.

The area also includes Lago di Belloca and Lago di Gerosa, formed by two dams on the Aso. A possible nearby stop is the Museo del Paesaggio (Amandola). Other museums in the area are on the page about museums in the Sibillini Mountains.