The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art "Sant'Apollonia" is a museum in Venice, wanted by the patriarch Albino Luciani, opened to the public in 1977 on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the restoration of the bronze horses of the basilica of San Marco, was officially inaugurated on October 4, 1980. It is located in the Benedictine monastery once on the Ammiana island, near Torcello, which has now disappeared. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art has been closed since 2019 and has not been transferred to the Pinacoteca Manfrediniana.
Works
Since 1969, the Romanesque cloister, the oldest in Venice,
has housed the Marciano Lapidarium, a collection of Roman, Byzantine
and Venetian-Byzantine stone fragments (9th - 10th centuries), mainly
from the ancient basilica of San Marco.
The museum itinerary
develops in six exhibition sections.
From May 2011 to May 2013
it also hosted an exhibition of Salvador Dalì entitled "The Dalì
Universe".
art gallery
The section brings together an
interesting collection of paintings, of particular interest:
San Lorenzo Giustiniani of Il Pordenone;
Jesus Christ the Redeemer
between St Mark and St Gall (16th century), oil on canvas, by Jacopo
Tintoretto;
the Expulsion of the merchants from the temple (second
half of the 17th century), oil on canvas, by Luca Giordano;
Massacre of the Innocents, oil on canvas, by Jacopo Palma il Giovane;
the Stories of San Saba (1593), oil on canvas, by Jacopo Palma il
Giovane, from the Tiepolo chapel of the Church of Sant'Antonin a
Castello;
the Crucifixion, painted on leather, from the school of
San Marcuola;
Deposition of Jesus Christ, oil on canvas, by
Gregorio Lazzarini;
series of paintings with the Stories of San
Romualdo (1747), oil on canvas, by Jacopo Marieschi, from the church
on the island of San Clemente;
the processional banner with the
Madonna and Child Jesus (1759) by A. Dini;
To underline the
entire cycle of works coming from the Confraternity of Christ, whose
seat was erected in 1644 near San Marcuola in Cannaregio. Among these
stands out:
Jesus among the doctors by Giambattista Lambranzi;
the Portraits of the confreres in front of the Faith or in front of
the allegory of the Church;
Transportation of a drowned man with
the participation of the brothers (1700) of Boranga.
Goldsmithing
The museum has one of the most important and ancient
collections of sacred silverware made up of about 200 pieces, dating
from the 14th to the 21st century, coming from various Venetian
churches.
Wooden works
Among his works, the museum includes
a rich collection of wooden sculptures ranging from the 14th to the
16th century. Among these, the following stand out:
the Ancona
of San Donato and devotees (1310), attributed to Paolo Veneziano, from
the Church of San Donato in Murano;
Crucified Jesus Christ (14th
century), carved wood, of the Venetian-German school, from the Church
of San Giovanni Novo in Oleo;
Jesus Christ crucified (15th
century), carved wood, from the Church of San Giovanni Novo in Oleo;
the wooden dossals (mid-16th century), inlaid wood, from a Venetian
workshop, from the Basilica of San Marco;
Sant'Antonio Abate
(second half of the 16th century), polychrome statue, attributed to
Alessandro Vittoria, from the church of Sant'Antonin.
Dressed
Madonnas
In the diocesan museum there is a remarkable collection of
Madonnas dressed in traditional Venetian clothes, very interesting
both from a historical-artistic and social point of view, dating from
between the 17th and 18th centuries. The expression dressed Madonna
indicates an iconographic typology of statue of the Virgin Mary,
represented alone or with the Child Jesus, often adorned with
sumptuous clothes and precious fabrics. Among the most interesting
examples, the following stand out in particular:
the Madonna
del Rosario (17th century), from the Church of Santa Maria Elisabetta
on the Lido;
the Madonna del Popolo (first half of the 18th
century), from the Church of San Geremia;
the Madonna del Rosario
(second half of the 18th century), from the Church of San Martino in
Burano.
Sacred vestments, fabrics and illuminated manuscripts
The museum preserves sacred vestments, dating from the eighteenth to
the nineteenth century, among which we can mention those that belonged
to the patriarch Angelo Roncalli, elected pope with the name of John
XXIII.
Furthermore, Venetian laces dating from the 16th to the
18th century are exhibited, including:
a linen tablecloth with
needle embroidery, bobbin border (second half of the 16th century).
There is also an important collection of illuminated manuscripts
(chorals and lectionaries), dating from the 14th to the 16th century,
including:
a mariegola (1363), i.e. a constitutional charter of
a corporation.
Contemporary art
The museum has around 40
contemporary art paintings. The section was born thanks to the
donations of artists who wanted to leave a testimony within the museum
with their paintings. The sacred theme has been reconsidered through
different supports and mixed techniques. Since 1983 the Museum has
organized the Biennial of Sacred Art, created to commemorate the
painter Francesco Perotti (1907 - 1955).