The Museum of Sacred Art of Camaiore was founded on June 9th 1934 and is located in a seventeenth-century building, once a hospitales along the Via Francigena, that later became the seat of the Confraternity of San Michele Arcangelo. In 1893 this Confraternity, the Confraternity of SS. Sacramento and the one of San Vincenzo Martire did join together. 

The Museum was established under the direction of Ugo Procacci, who realised the first setting and cataloguing. His aim was to preserve the most important artworks of Camaiore and to prevent them from being stolen. At the beginning the Museum collected sacred furnishings, paintings and hangings, dating from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. They came from the main churches of Camaiore (Collegiata, S. Maria della Stella, S. Michele, Dolori, S. Croce and Badia di San Pietro) and its vicinity (S. Margherita in Montebello, S. Ansano in Vado and S. Giuseppe in Greppolungo). Over time the Museum has enriched its collections, becoming the seat of important exhibitions. Today it gathers some of the most interesting local artworks. 

The Museum collection is composed of six rooms, containing important works of art, liturgical hangings, goldsmithing items, paintings and wooden sculptures. 

Among them, a special mention must be made of the well-known Vergine Annunciata by Matteo Civitali, which was given back its original aspect thanks to an accurate restoration. Besides that, the Museum gathers a great variety of paintings, including the famous polyptych by Francesco di Andrea d’Anguilla and the majestic altarpiece with the Maestà and the saints St. John the Baptist, St. Andrew, St. Peter and St. Sebastian. This great painting was originally located in the church of S. Maria Albiano and is attributed to Vincenzo Frediani (1481-1505), probably the most characteristic and prolific painter in Lucca at the end of the fifteenth century. Precious liturgical furnishings and sophisticated goldsmithing items constitute an important part of the collection. But there is still another incredible work of art, deserving particular attention: an early sixteenth-century Flemish tapestry, a piece of great rarity, which suffered an attempted theft in 1932.

These and many more artworks make the Museum of Sacred Art a must-visit for whoever is willing to know the history of Versilia and the fascinating backcountry of Camaiore.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Procacci, Ugo, Catalogo del Museo d’arte sacra di Camaiore, Tipografia Benedetti, Camaiore, 1936

Pedretti, Carlo, edited by, Leonardo e la pulzella di Camaiore, Giunti Gruppo Editoriale, Firenze, 1998

Campus Maior Rivista di Studi Camaioresi, Istituto Storico Lucchese Sezione di Camaiore, n. 15, Camaiore, 2003

INFORMATION

Free entry. The museum opening is managed by a group of volunteers of the Confraternity of SS. Sacramento. If they are willing, visitors can make a small donation to the Museum at the end of the visit.

The Museum opening hours are: 

Winter opening hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-5:30 p.m.; Saturday 3:30-6:00 p.m.

Spring opening hours: Tuesday,Thursday and Saturday 4:00-6:30 p.m.

Summer opening hours: Tuesday and Thursday 5:00-7:00 p.m.; Saturday 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday visits on reservation only

For information call us at the number below when the Museum is open.

Telephone number: 0584 984182

Fax: 0584 984182

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Where we are: Via IV Novembre, 71, Camaiore (LU)

MUSEUM ACTIVITIES

The Museum of Sacred Art participates in the didactic activities organised by the Ufficio Musei and offers: 

• Guided visits: (individual or for family units): 2,00 euros per person (free for children under 3 years). Compulsory reservation at a time of your choosing to be fixed (duration about 1 hour).

• School visits on reservation only. For further information consult the didactic programme below in the sections concerning the Museum of Sacred Art.

The website of the Museum of Sacred Art of Camaiore is now online. It was realised by LIMES - Laboratorio di Metodologie Informatiche per la Storia dell’Arte of the University of Pisa with the coordination of Sonia Maffei, professor of History of Art Criticism. The site was created by the students of the laboratory. 

Such an incredibly varied team permitted the realisation of a portal, using open-source technologies. Here it is possible to receive logistical information about the collection and the didactic activities of the Museum. Moreover, the students of “Cultural Heritage Informatics” at the “School of Specialization for artistic and cultural heritage” created a section which focuses on four specific topics: textile, goldsmithing, the polyptych by Francesco di Andrea d’Anguilla and the Vergine Annunciata by Matteo Civitali. 

The portal contains more than 180 pages, 718 images and 3 videos. The photos were taken during a project realised by the Laboratory of Photography of the University, while the videos were produced in collaboration with the Audiovisual Laboratory of the University.

You can access the site by clicking on the link below. 

Virtual Tour Museo d\'Arte Sacra