Civic Museum of Rieti

The Civic Museum of Rieti (Museo Civico di Rieti) is the principal museum of the city of Rieti, located in the province of the same name in the Lazio region of central Italy. It serves as the town's art and archaeology museum, with its holdings divided between two sites: the historical-artistic section at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II #1 in the Palazzo Comunale, and the archaeological section at Via Sant'Anna #4 in the former monastery of Santa Lucia. The museum matters as the custodian of Rieti's cultural heritage, preserving works ranging from medieval painting to 20th-century art, alongside significant archaeological finds from the city and the surrounding Sabina territory.

The museum's origins trace to the late Renaissance, when ancient inscriptions were gathered under the porticoes of the Palazzo Comunale. The modern institution took shape through the expropriation of ecclesiastical property mandated by the Royal Decree of 21 April 1862, which transferred paintings, sculptures, and goldwork to municipal ownership. From 1865, this combined collection was displayed in the former convent of Sant'Agostino. In 1909, the collection moved to the second floor of the Palazzo Comunale, which had been repaired after the 1898 earthquake by architect Cesare Bazzani; the reorganization was sponsored by Umberto Gnoli, superintendent of galleries in Umbria, and the Rieti restorer Giuseppe Colarieti Tosti. Bishop Bonaventura Quintarelli (bishop 1895-1915) bequeathed his collection of liturgical objects and artworks gathered from abandoned rural churches and private collections. The 20th century brought further growth through acquisitions and donations: the archaeological collection of canon Vincenzo Boschi, purchased in 1912; approximately one hundred works by Antonino Calcagnadoro from his heirs in 1935; the Francesco Palmegiani collection in 1952; and paintings and writings from Angelo Sacchetti Sassetti and his nephew Giorgio Djichkariani in 1958. During the 1960s, the Soprintendenza alle Gallerie del Lazio restored and catalogued the entire holdings. A reorganization in the 1990s split the museum into two sections, with the archaeological collection transferred to the 13th-century monastery of Santa Lucia, inaugurated in 2001 and expanded in 2007 with the opening of the Ala dei Sabini.

The museum encompasses two distinct sections spanning art history and archaeology. The historical-artistic section covers a chronological range from the Middle Ages to the present day, with particular strength in medieval and Renaissance painting, 17th-century works, and the oeuvre of local artist Antonino Calcagnadoro. The archaeological section presents material from the city of Rieti and the Sabina region, chronologically arranged from prehistoric times through the 13th century AD. Thematic display organizes the archaeological collections around subjects including daily life, death, and religion across the Iron Age, Etruscan, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.

The historical-artistic section, distributed across nine rooms plus an antechamber, contains several works of particular significance. The Trittico di Fonte Colombo (Crucifixion and Saints) by Zanino di Pietro, painted in tempera on panel circa 1405-1406, is considered the masterpiece of that artist, showing influences from Altichiero, Jacopo Avanzi, and Pisanello. Other medieval and Renaissance works include a 1370 panel by Luca di Tommè, a detached fresco by Liberato da Rieti dated 1441, a 15th-century polychrome terracotta by Silvestro dell'Aquila, and a Madonna del latte by Antoniazzo Romano with works by his school and his son Marcantonio Aquili. The 17th-century rooms feature paintings by Lattanzio Niccoli, who worked in Rieti during the first half of that century; S. Gregorio in gloria (circa 1678-1679) by Giovanni Battista Benaschi; S. Leonardo visits a prisoner (1698) by Antonio Gherardi; and two works by Carlo Cesi from 1679-1680. There are also busts of Angelo Maria Ricci and Isabella Ricci by Giuseppe De Fabris (1830), a plaster statue of Hebe by Antonio Canova (circa 1815), and a wooden model of the Cappella Vincenti Mareri in the cathedral by Giuseppe Valadier. The Calcagnadoro bequest forms a substantial anthology of that artist's work, including bozzetti for frescoes. The archaeological section's highlights include an Iron Age hut-urn from the Campo Reatino necropolis, a Roman dedication to Hercules, an inscription to Agrippa, and an Augustan relief from Trebula Mutuesca depicting a hunting scene.

The historical-artistic section occupies the second floor of the Palazzo Comunale, Rieti's former town hall, located on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. This building incorporates medieval wall fabric visible in one of the galleries. The archaeological section is housed at ground floor level in the 13th-century former monastery of Santa Lucia on Via Sant'Anna, which was inaugurated as a museum space in 2001 and expanded in 2007.

The Civic Museum of Rieti operates under municipal ownership through the Comune di Rieti. The historical-artistic section is located at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II #1, while the archaeological section is at Via Sant'Anna #4. The museum maintains an online presence through the municipal website at www.comune.rieti.it. The division into two physically separate but complementary sites reflects the museum's dual function as both an art gallery and an archaeological repository for the city and the broader Sabina region.