Bettona City Museum
An artistic gem
Located in Piazza Cavour, the Bettona City Museum is housed in the Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo Biancalana. The collection, linked to local history, includes two distinct sections: one archaeological and one pictorial. Within the ancient walls, masterpieces of art, Etruscan artefacts and rare 14th-century choir books, each room reveals a fragment of the soul of the village. It is not just a visit, it is a journey through time, between spirituality, tradition and wonder. The collection includes important pieces by Perugino, El Greco, Dono Doni and Canova.
From 2025, it will be fully accessible to people with disabilities or mobility limitations.
Opening hours and days:
Saturday and Sunday 10:30-13:00 / 14:30-17:00
Tel:075 5718587
TIMELESS MASTERPIECES
Perugino, El Greco, Dono Doni, Canova
The museum has a rich and varied collection, including some truly outstanding works. Of particular interest is the selection of local artists linked to the area’s religious devotion and the representation of Bettona itself.
However, the collection also features works by artists who have played a fundamental role in the history of art, such as Perugino, Canova, Dono Doni and El Greco.
PERUGINO IN BETTONA
Among the works in the art gallery, two paintings by Pietro Vannucci, known as ‘Il Perugino’, stand out: Saint Anthony of Padua and Madonna of Mercy with Saints Stephen, Jerome and patrons. The first is a tempera painting on canvas depicting the saint with Bolo da Maraglia and the patron at his feet. The work is characteristic of the painter’s late mature period. The second is a large panel depicting the Virgin Mary gathering Saints Jerome and Lawrence under her cloak.
EL GRECO ‘S TABERNACLE
Tabernacle by the Cretan painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known as El Greco, who worked in Venice and Rome in the 17th century. The work consists of five elements topped by a triangular cornice containing a playful cherub. The four Evangelists are present: St John with the black eagle, St Luke with the bull, St Matthew with the angel and St Mark with the lion. In the centre is the risen Christ.
THE SHEPHERDS’ ADORATION BY DONO DONI
A masterpiece from 1543, this is the most significant work by the Assisi artist, an expression of Umbrian painting influenced by Flemish taste. The scene is dominated by the Child in the foreground, the shepherds and a landscape rich in detail. In the centre stands the nurse, an imposing figure and patron of the work for the Olivieri family of Bettona. In the predella, three episodes from the life of Saint Crispolto: exorcism, arrest and martyrdom.
CANOVA'S BUST
Canova’s bust, a marbled plaster self-portrait from 1812, was found in Bettona in 2016. The rare ivory marbling has preserved its integrity. The “Caesar” hairstyle, the hairless face and the pensive gaze are reminiscent of Greek art. Created at the height of his success, it is part of a series of eight busts donated by Canova to admirers. The one in Bettona, one of the best preserved, came to the village as a bequest from the Preziotti family.
THE ART GALLERY COLLECTION
Benedetto di Bindo, the Choral Books, De Ribeira, Jacopo Siculo
Alongside masterpieces by great artists, the Museum of Bettona preserves real gems that enrich the collection, including some rarities such as the beautiful choral books, which are the subject of study by music historians. As a whole, the art gallery tells the story of Umbrian art and the town of Bettona up to the Neoclassical period. There are also plans to open a contemporary section.
SAINTS PETER AND PAUL BY GIUSEPPE DE RIBERA, KNOWN AS LO SPAGNOLETTO
The Preziotti collection includes two intense portraits of Saint Peter, gazing skyward with the keys to Paradise in his hands, and Saint Paul, holding the sword of faith and a book bearing the painter’s signature and date. The figures, solemn and imbued with spirituality, emerge from a sober background, inviting contemplation and revealing the inner depth of the two great apostles.
ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN BY BENEDETTO DI BINDO
This amazing panel by Benedetto di Bindo comes from the church of Santa Maria Maggiore: the Virgin is assumed into heaven, surrounded by angels, while below the apostles discover the empty tomb filled with flowers. In the centre, St Thomas receives the belt as a sign of the miracle. A masterpiece.
MADONNA IN GLORY AND SIX SAINTS BY JACOPO SICULO
Commissioned by the Angelini couple, whose coat of arms appears several times in the work, this altarpiece comes from the church of Sant’Antonio. It was painted by Jacopo Siculo, a Sicilian artist who trained in Rome and was very active in Umbria. His mastery is evident in the lively rendering of the landscapes, among which a splendid view of Bettona stands out at the bottom: a detail that combines art, devotion and local identity in a single, fascinating vision.
PROCESSIONAL BANNER BY NICCOLÒ DI LIBERATORE, KNOWN AS L'ALUNNO
Originating from Santa Maria Maggiore, the banner was commissioned by a local confraternity and expresses the profound faith of the people. Used in processions against plagues, it was the object of intense veneration. Typical of Umbria, this pictorial genre was very important between the 15th and early 16th centuries, combining art, spirituality and the need for protection in a single, powerful collective image.
THE CHORALS OF BETTONA
Franciscan chorals from the early 15th century in parchment and Gothic script, with musical notation on four lines in red, typical of Gregorian chant. Coming from a local convent, they were used during solemn liturgical celebrations. The chants celebrate the Franciscan saints and Saint Crispolto, patron saint of the city. Treasures of faith, art and memory, they show signs of corrections and updates, reflecting the evolution of worship and the strong link between liturgy and local life.
They have been stripped of almost all their gold engravings.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SECTION
Etruscan and Roman Bettona
The Museum of Bettona preserves some remarkable finds that are part of the archaeological tradition of Umbria. The entire territory of Bettona is rich in Etruscan and Roman finds, suggesting how much there is still to investigate and the historical potential to be discovered. Most of the finds come from the countryside and date back to excavations in the early 1900s.
VOTIVE STONES
The municipal archaeological collection of Bettona preserves an important group of funerary stones from the ancient necropolis. There are two types: steles with Etruscan inscriptions, including the term tular (border), and cylindrical stones with pine cone finials. The latter, which are more numerous, are aniconic markers with composite capitals, typical of the Etruscan funerary tradition of central Italy.
HEAD OF APHRODITE
Found between Topino and Bevagna, the Head of Aphrodite emerged from an ancient building on Bianconi land. The white marble and elegant hairstyle reveal the goddess in the famous Pudica style, captured as she emerges from the bath. Refined and sensual, the sculpture was probably part of the furnishings of a luxurious spa complex, bringing the eternal charm of Greek mythology to the heart of Umbria.
OSCILLUM
White marble oscillum depicting Satyr and Maenad, characters who used to accompany Dionysus in his procession. Second half of the 1st century AD.
It was a small sculpture that in Roman times was hung as a votive offering from the branches of trees during certain festivals in honour of the god Bacchus.
ORGANISE YOUR VISIT
Schools, families, groups
The Museum organises guided tours for groups, personalised and themed visits, educational workshops and offers solutions suitable for families.
Please contact directly moc.liamgobfsctd-7d3e7e@acetoilbibanotteb