Collegio di Maria Museum
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Icona Odigitria I. Ieromonaco (sec. XVII)
Interno
Interno
The Museum of the College of Maria di Piana degli Albanesi is a museum that is open only for private visits and which preserves the most important corpus of sacred vestments of the Byzantine rite, created and jealously guarded over the centuries by the nuns of the College.
These embroideries seem truly inspired by the Divine and present a very elaborate and rich embroidery technique, which unfortunately has almost been lost today and this motivates the uniqueness of this permanent exhibition. The Museum also houses an extraordinary collection of 17th century icons and paintings including the famous Madonna Hodegetria by Ioannikios Ieromonaco. Visitors will be able to admire a one-of-a-kind collection of sacred objects of the Byzantine rite, wax models of great beauty, very rich frontals and a collection of embroidery with all the techniques used by the nuns of the College. By visiting the Collegio di Maria museum you will live an immersive experience that will make you discover the cultural identity of Piana degli Albanesi. This Museum was conceived and established thanks to the enlightened vision of Sister Maria Pia Caronna who, following the closure of the College's embroidery school, fearing that the embroidery techniques that women learned in the College could be lost, as unfortunately happened. , had the great intuition of creating a space in which the very rich sacred vestments of the Byzantine rite created in the past centuries in this College were permanently kept and displayed.
Sister Maria Pia Caronna was also the beating soul and great guide of the school which was based in the College of Mary and which trained the women and teachers of Piana and which was recently closed. The Museum of the Collegio di Maria was rearranged in 2014 thanks to the Mother Superior of the College, Sister Maria Canicattì, who accepted the proposal for a new exhibition conceived and curated by Salvatore Vasotti with the precious advice of a committee he himself wanted and chaired by Sister Maria Canicattì. The committee was composed of Archpriest Papas Giovanni Stassi (rector of the Sanctuary), Professor Rita Cedrini (head of FAI Palermo delegation), Professor Maria Elena Volpes (Superintendent of the BB.CC. of Palermo), historian Stefano Schirò and maestro Sergio Lucito.
The Museum of the Collegio di Maria is the most sought-after destination in Piana degli Albanesi, a museum not open to the public and can be visited by reservation only.
The Museum houses the most precious permanent exhibition of sacred vestments of the Byzantine rite and ancient Byzantine icons, which together with rich frontals, silver, sacred wax plastics and other rare objects related to the Byzantine rite, make a visit truly unmissable.
The sacred vestments were embroidered by the nuns of the College, whose hands were as if inspired by God, so much so that their embroideries were spoken of as "Divine Embroideries". In the Collegio di Maria the nuns taught the boarders of the College, until the closing of the boarding school dating back a few decades ago, the secrets of the most refined and elaborate embroidery techniques. The embroiderers trained here first kept alive the production of the sacred vestments of the Byzantine rite and then of the Traditional Costume of Piana degli Albanesi, which was developed in the current version in this college.
This permanent exhibition was created in the 1950s by the will of Sister Maria Pia Caronna, an enlightened nun who did so much for her schooling in Piana and who had the intuition to create a room in the Collegio di Maria that would hold this treasure.
In 2014, thanks to the precious contribution of Professor Rita Cedrini and Superintendent Maria Elena Volpes, the entire exhibition was set up by Salvatore Vasotti to make it more suitable for use.
Visit this Museum and discover in exclusive the "Divine Embroideries" of the Collegio di Maria di Piana degli Albanesi.
TIMETABLES:
It can be visited only with a private visit and by reservation . The visit of the Museum of the College includes the visit of the Sanctuary of M. SS. Odigitria.
You can visit the Museum and the Sanctuary by booking one of the experiences below.
For more information on this museum contact us here
OPENING HOURS Collegio di Maria Museum:
Visitable only with private tour and by reservation . The visit to the Collegio Museum includes the visit to the Sanctuary of M. SS. Odigitria.
You can visit the Museum and the Sanctuary by booking one of the experiences below.
for more information on this site, for visits and initiatives click here and fill out the form.