Diocesan Museum of Sassari

The Diocesan Museum of Sassari is located in the historical centre of the city, easily accessible for the simple fact that it is in the square of St Nicholas Cathedral.

It is divided into three sections:

the first section, housed in the Aragonese or Beneficiary Sacristy, in the Chapter House and in the premises of the New Archive of St. Nicholas Cathedral, is dedicated to gold, silverware and vestments. The section houses the Assumption Gold, altar hangings, precious liturgical objects and movable Cathedral furniture acquired over a period of time from the 15th to the 20th century.

Of particular note: the Processional Standard (late 15th century), which is the oldest work in this section, and the Reliquary Statue of St. Gavino made of silver (mid-17th century).

Processional banner, dated around 1490

The second section is housed in the nave of the Church of St. Michael (just a few steps from the museum itself) and contains paintings from the 16th to the 18th century and stone and wooden sculptures from the 17th to the 19th century.

In the centre of the hall is the monumental Bed of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the representation of the Dormitio Virginis, in the theatrical and scenographic taste of the 17th century.

Of particular interest: the Translation of the Turritani Martyrs by Baccio Gorini (year 1615), the Virgin of Humility by Charles Van Loo (year 1745).

In the third section, called archaeology and popular piety, located in the crypt of the same St. Michael's church, eight didactic panels illustrate the excavations inside the cathedral and the different phases of construction. It includes Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements, tombstones, ceramic, glass and metal finds and devotional objects.

OPENING HOURS: May to September, Tuesday to Friday, 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Visits to the Museum are suspended during liturgical celebrations in the Cathedral.

CLOSED: 15 August

For info and bookings: +39 347 0007882