Museum of Sacred Art

Located in the room adjacent to the sacristy, one can already admire a 16th-century Polyptych displayed on a 17th-century shelf. Unfortunately, the central panel is missing, but the side panels depict: the Angel announcing to Mary, St. Blaise and St. Francis of Paola, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. At the base of the columns are the coats of arms of the Sanseverino family, lords of Saracena, and the coat of arms of Saracena.

The door opposite leads into the Museum Hall, the true treasure of the Church, consisting of precious silver items, among which stands out a majestic Monstrance used for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, along with its Ostensorium, crafted in 1746 by the silversmith Salvatore Vecchio, possibly from Cassano Jonio, commissioned by the procurator Don Domenico Mastromarchi. Noteworthy is the processional Cross made of silver sheets, attributable to the mid-17th century and possibly from the Castrovillari-based workshop of the Conte family, which shows a delicate image of St. Innocent on its reverse. The collection also includes a censer donated by chaplain Don Daniele Celio in 1692, along with several other silver and gilded copper liturgical furnishings, made by Neapolitan and local silversmiths from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

Particular mention should be made of the painting depicting the Madonna della Purità, created on a metal plate between the 17th and 18th centuries. Also of interest are the reliquary busts from the 17th and 18th centuries, in gilded damasked wood, the paintings (16th-19th century), and the liturgical vestments (17th-18th century).

In the adjacent room, important archival documents are on display, recognized as being of significant historical interest by the Archival Superintendency, including the manuscript of the "Historical Monograph of Saracena" by Forestieri.

Publications:

  • Gianluigi Trombetti, Le chiese di Santa Maria del Gamio e delle Armi in Saracena - “Itinerari storico artistico” - Edizione “Il Coscile”, Castrovillari (Cs), 1993.
  • Sac. Leone Boniface, La Chiesa di S. Maria del Gamio in Saracena, Castrovillari, 2000.