MUSEO DELL’ABBAZIA DI SAN DALMAZZO DI PEDONA

Right from the forecourt in front of the museum, clues to the complex layering of wall structures from different eras can be seen. In fact, the apses of the Romanesque church are superimposed on the remains of the Longobard building0 left exposed under a glass roof. The three rooms reconstruct the history of Pedona, offering a journey back in time through almost 2000 years of history. The first room traces the various phases of the building, dwelling on the 12th-century abbey church, represented by a three-dimensional model. The second room presents the main finds excavated in the necropolis of Pedona. The third room displays the finds from the Longobard church. From the museum, one reaches the archaeological area, following a path that shows the succession of the various buildings that preceded the current parish church. After a long period of oblivion, the impressive Romanesque crypt, built between the 11th and 12th centuries, has been restored for worship. Beyond the crypt, the parish museum offers visitors a rich collection of reliquaries and sacred vestments. The visit ends in the upper chapel, built at the end of the 17th century above the presbytery. Decorated with gilded stuccoes and paintings, it houses a precious late 16th-century silver reliquary bust containing a bone fragment of the skull of San Dalmazzo. From the chapel one can enjoy a spectacular view of the present nave of the Baroque parish church.