Museum of Sacred Art (Montefortino)

History of the Museum of Sacred Art in Montefortino

The museum was inaugurated in 2000, in the same palazzo as the Pinacoteca civica, in collaboration with the diocese of Fermo. It brings together sacred works and furnishings from various diocesan and municipal churches. The works were also gathered to address the conservation problems caused by the closure of some local churches, including San Francesco, Sant'Agostino and Sant'Andrea. The rooms have been restored and keep their old wooden beams.

The palazzo was built for Desiderio Leopardi, of a cadet branch of the Recanati family. The Leopardi lived there until 1800, when it passed to the Duranti, who later donated it to the town.

What to see in the Museum of Sacred Art

The route recreates the furnishings of the old churches. One or more rooms are set aside for works from the same place. Paintings and sculptures with sacred subjects range from the 14th to the 19th century.

Among the best-known pieces is the Madonna del Girone, a 14th-century wooden sculpture depicting the Madonna Enthroned with Child. There are also a wooden Dead Christ and canvases by Simone de Magistris (Madonna del Rosario, Adoration of the Magi), Domenico Malpiedi and Giuseppe Ghezzi. The collection also includes vestments, chalices and silver candlesticks.

An important part consists of furnishings, vestments and liturgical objects from the old Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo, replaced by a building designed by Gian Battista Carducci. From the Palazzo dei Priori of Montefortino come a Madonna with blessing Child and Saint Michael, and the coat of arms of Montefortino.

Visiting the Museum of Sacred Art

The museum remained closed for a long time after the 2016 earthquake. Palazzo Leopardi became accessible again only on a special basis, for the 2025 Giornate FAI di Primavera, after almost a decade of closure. Before setting out, it is best to ask the Comune di Montefortino for information.

The museum complex has a tactile sensory route and a resin reproduction of Perugino's Christ of the Passion, created through the project "Il museo di tutti e per tutti" (The museum of everyone and for everyone).

Where the Museum of Sacred Art is located

The museum is in Montefortino, in the province of Fermo, inside the Sibillini Park. It occupies the fourth floor of Palazzo Leopardi, near Porta San Biagio. The building stands on the south side of the village. It can be recognized by its Renaissance façade of brick and travertine and by its portal, with a faun carved in the keystone of the arch.

Around the Museum of Sacred Art in Montefortino

In the same palazzo are the Pinacoteca civica Fortunato Duranti in Montefortino, with works from the Gothic to the Neoclassical period, and the Museo faunistico dei Sibillini, a wildlife museum on the second floor. The Santuario della Madonna dell'Ambro, in the parish of Montefortino, had been closed after earthquake damage and reopened on Christmas Eve 2018. Other places to visit are on the page about museums in the Sibillini Mountains.