Museum of Sacred Art

The Church of San Pietro is flanked by the Museum of Sacred Art: a veritable collection of treasures which, through their splendour and symbolic power, have enriched the place of worship throughout its history. The reconstruction of the altar erected in 1629 for the solemn funeral of Duke Cesare d'Este, the main architect of the move of the ducal court from Ferrara to Modena in 1598, certainly deserves a special place. The display visible in the museum aims to recreate for visitors the solemn atmosphere of those Baroque celebrations. You should know that the two modular wooden candlesticks used to hold the candles that illuminated the altar were discovered in a church attic and later studied and restored. According to historians, these are precisely the ones used in the original altar! The collection also includes a large number of reliquaries. You may notice one of these in particular with a rather unusual appearance. It is the reliquary of the right foot of Mary Magdalene, dating to the second half of the 16th century. It imitates the shape of a royal foot to match the saint's left foot, preserved in the basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome. According to tradition, in the 13th century, a monk named Martino had the task of guarding the remains of Mary Magdalene in Marseilles. When he was transferred to Reggio Emilia, he supposedly took a memento of the saint with him by tearing off her foot. The relic was moved from Reggio to Modena in 1783, when the monastic communities of the two cities joined forces. Finally, one of the most precious pieces is the pastoral staff—the bishop’s crozier—a work produced by a Modenese goldsmith’s workshop in the second quarter of the 16th century. It consists of an intermediate node in the form of a temple, hosting small figures of saints. An elaborate spiral culminating at the centre in the bust of St Peter rises from it. Take your time to explore these wonders and let yourself be captivated by the gleam... of gold.