Art Gallery

The Art Gallery is housed in the Church of Sant’Angelo and contains religious art that has been collected from the local churches and monasteries. On entering, one can see the wooden statue of San Michele Arcangelo/Saint Michael the Archangel which once hung over the Porta Romana and a beautiful Croce Dipinta/Painted Cross from the early 1200’s, one of the earliest examples of painting in the Aretino area. A fine collection of Medieval jewellery is on display in the Old Sacristy. There is the beautiful Croce Santa/Sacred Cross from the 1200’s showing fine workmanship in the techniques of enamelling, filigree and enrichment of precious pearls. The work contains a fragment of the cross of Christ and a thorn from the crown, relics donated by King Louis IX, known as the Holy One, to Beato Mansueto of Castiglione who was an apostolic ambassador to the Court of France. There is another fine jewellery work of art Busto di Sant’Ursula/Saint Ursula’s Bust from the 13th century representing the legendary martyr who was killed in Cologne, made from silver with painted and decorated enamel, vitreous paste and pearls. The section dedicated to paintings has exhibits from the Tuscan School, on wood and canvas, ranging from the 1200’s through to 1700’s. Some of the most noted paintings are: the Maestà/Majesty by Taddeo Gaddi (1328 ca.); San Michele Arcangelo/Saint Michael Archangel (1480 ca.) and Le Stigmate di San Francesco/Stigmata of Saint Francis (1486), both works by Bartolomeo della Gatta.