In 1914, archbishop Antolín López Peláez founded the Diocesan Museum, which was installed in some rooms of the cloister’s northeast sector, in the Cathedral, with religious works of art from different origins and donations done by the archbishop López Peláez, the cathedral chapter, the parishes of the diocese, religious congregations and particulars, as well as the acquisition of other pieces. The museum was improved during the next prelacies.
It was closed in 1973 because the facilities were obsolete. In 1983, a restricted selection of the pieces was exhibited permanently in the old chapel of Corpus Christi, in the Cathedral’s cloister. In 1992, because of the 9th Centenary’s celebration of the Metropolitan See’s restoration and the resettlement of Tarragona, the old museum rooms were restored and conditioned. Since that moment, these rooms have been fitted out as a permanent exhibition with a large selection of the best pieces of the museum’s collection.
The visitor’s access to the museum’s rooms is a part of the Cathedral’s visit. In this way, it has created a modest museum ecosystem where the archaeology and the arts are incorporated into the living landscape of the Cathedral, its cloister and its gardens.
Ancient Gothic Painting Collection
Bibliography:
Josep Martí Aixalà: “Museu Diocesà de Tarragona”, Museus diocesans de Catalunya: Recull de les conferències donades a Solsona en el transcurs de les Jornades sobre els museus diocesans de Catalunya, els dies 21 i 22 de setembre de 1956, en ocasió de la celebració del centenari de la fundació del Museu Diocesà i Comarcal de Solsona, Patronat del Museu Diocesà i Comarcal, Solsona, 1997.
