Trapani: the Pepoli Museum
The “A. Pepoli” Regional Museum of Trapani is housed in the premises of the former convent of the Carmelite Fathers, a large building constructed, in the 14th century, which, after extensive remodeling over the centuries, took on its current layout only in the 20th century.It is named after its founder, Count Agostino Pepoli, who established it between 1906 and 1908. It collects works from Count Pepoli’s private collection, city-owned objects from the suppressed religious corporations, the “picture gallery” donated by General Giovan Battista Fardella to his city in 1830, much of Count Hernandez’s collection, as well as artifacts of various kinds donated by Trapani citizens and heterogeneous works purchased on the antiques market.It also includes archaeological artifacts donated by the National Museum of Palermo, historical relics from the Fardelliana Library and ceramics from the “Sieri Pepoli” Marine Hospice in Trapani. It is one of the few museums in Sicily to have a qualified collection of “decorative and applied arts,” documenting the fervent activity of Trapani’s masters who specialized, in the 17th and 18th centuries, in working with coral, ivory, shells, semi-precious stones, gold and silver. Nativities, objects with coral, cameos and artifacts made of other precious materials are an expression of the cultural and economic life of the city in those centuries, as well as of an extraordinary artistic craftsmanship, of high quality, that made Trapani famous throughout the world.Collections of coral works include the valuable Hanging Lamp, a work made in 1633 and signed by the Trapanese Frà Matteo Bavera, and the splendid Crucifix reported to the same author, celebrated by sources for the extreme skill of its workmanship and the exceptionality of its dimensions.The museum also holds a sumptuous collection of jewelry, much of it from the Treasure of the Madonna of Trapani, once kept by Carmelite friars in the adjoining Shrine of Maria SS. Annunziata. The collection stems from the homage of kings, princes, noblewomen, prelates and simple faithful to the famous simulacrum of the Virgin, a historic pilgrimage destination and object of intense devotion. The jewelry, made for the most part in the 17th century, for the redundant decoration and exuberant polychromy of stones, gems, pearls, and enamels that characterizes them are an expression of the typically Baroque taste of the time.The section devoted to decorative arts also includes the famous wooden canvas and glue nativity figurines produced by Trapani masters who specialized in this technique; among them was the famous Giovanni Matera (1653-1718), who produced small masterpieces charged with intense and dramatic expressiveness.
Where: via Conte Agostino Pepoli, 180
When: weekdays 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. – Sundays and holidays 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
SUMMER HOURS. (JULY AND AUGUST):
Weekdays: Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sundays and holidays: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
TICKET OFFICE CLOSES HALF AN HOUR BEFORE CLOSING TIME
Tickets: 6 € full – 3 € reduced (for citizens between 18 and 25 years old); free for E.U. citizens under 18 years old
