Hall 6 – Paths of the Sacred from the Early Middle Ages to the Modern Age

Middle Ages

This hall 6, which concludes and extends the museum itinerary, is conceived as a thematic and chronological itinerary that places the sacred at the centre, a leitmotif that from the early medieval finds already cyclically exhibited leads us beyond the chronological limits of the Middle Ages, to testimonies of faith from the Modern Age, ranging from devotional medals found in tombs to the statue of the Pietà from the Camaldolese area.
The geographical limits of Casentino are also crossed, with interregional and international pilgrimages and routes followed by devotees, including the Franciscan routes and the Via Romea Germanica, a ‘European cultural route’ for which the museum is the official local information point. Inter-regional contacts are also documented at the beginning of the itinerary, through the stylistic affinities of the artefacts with the Romagna area, already highlighted by the 2015 exhibition “High Apennine Middle Ages”, in collaboration with the Museo Civico Mambrini di Galeata (FC).

The early mediaeval section is the core of the exhibition, since it tells us about a lesser-known period that is not visible except through the significant finds exhibited here and contextualised. This is a facies of the Casentino that is known, but still to be understood in its fullness, and that influenced the valley’s medieval appearance, which can be clearly identified thanks to the castles, parish churches and monasteries set in the present-day landscape.
The references to the territory and its evidence are necessary elements to fully understand the exhibition itinerary, but also invitations to continue the visit outside the museum.