Santa Croce Museum
Santa Croce Museum
The Santa Croce Museum, located in Piazza San Francesco in Umbertide, was created through the transformation of the ancient Church of Santa Croce, a place of worship documented since 1295 and linked to the Confraternity of the Disciplinati di Santa Maria. Over the centuries, the building underwent numerous expansions until it reached its current form between the 17th and 18th centuries.
The museum houses Luca Signorelli's masterpiece Deposition from the Cross (1516), commissioned by the Confraternity and part of a wider pictorial narrative dedicated to the Passion of Christ and the Legend of the True Cross, depicted in the predella panels inspired by the Legenda Aurea.
The work represents the stylistic maturity of Signorelli, a leading Renaissance master and pupil of Piero della Francesca, active between Cortona, Florence, Rome, Orvieto, and the Upper Tiber Valley.
In addition to Signorelli's panel, the museum exhibits Pomarancio's large canvas Madonna and Child in Glory among Angels and Saints (1577), from the Church of San Francesco. Inspired by Parmigianino's models, the painting depicts the Virgin in glory accompanied by four saints recognizable by their attributes.
Today, the Santa Croce Museum is also a multifunctional cultural space, hosting exhibitions, meetings, and conferences. Ten explanatory panels accompany visitors, narrating the history of the church, Signorelli's artistic journey, and the restoration of the Deposition.Photogallery
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