The Italian Diocesan Museums: Bridging Religious and Cultural Identity

The aim of the research is to analyse the specific characteristics of ecclesiastic museums in Italy through their history and their evolution so as to identify their common mission and the different levels of interpretations of the collections by the Catholic community, the local community (regardless of religious motivations) and the other visitors. The analysis is focused on diocesan museums that represent a specific Catholic community identified in a limited geographical region. On the one hand, for the Christian community the ecclesiastical cultural heritage is a qualified expression of the life of the Church in its various expressions of announcement, liturgy, community life and practice of charity, but also document of the history of the Christian community and it is useful instrument of knowledge of faith and devotions; on the other hand the ecclesiastic collections aren’t only composed of sacred objects and their common narration is an important instrument to understand the local identity. Finally, diocesan museums are profane spaces available to introduce everybody to the understanding of religious and cultural concerns of the diocesan regio