2.3. Typology
2.3.1. The typology
of museum institutions
The typologies according
to which an ecclesiastical museum can be established vary. Types of museums
have varied in different epochs, often thanks to Church officials who showed an
extraordinary spirit of initiative. Nevertheless, a complete typological list
of ecclesiastical museums does not exist. If one wants to attempt a general
summary, one can refer to the Church entity that represents the owner or that
has been responsible for its origin, or one can refer to the kind of patrimony
stored in the museum itself.
In the historical
introduction (see the present Circular at n. 1.3. Historical Background
regarding the Preservation of the Art-Historical Patrimony), we have
already referred to "cathedral treasuries" as well as those older
museums that can be properly called ecclesiastical. These museums, in many
cases, still exist today, while preserving their function of protecting
precious liturgical objects, some of which, in certain circumstances, can be
still used for worship. In the course of the centuries, "cathedral
museums" were added to these "treasuries", and in some areas
also the "Opera del Duomo" (workshop of the Cathedral) that have a
less evident connection with worship, because they primarily preserve and
display art work and other finds taken from the cathedral and its surrounding
area.
In the same historical
introduction we also mentioned various types of possible
"collections" usually of a monographic nature (artistic,
archeological, scientific collections), some containing noteworthy antique
artefacts, others with material of more recent date. These collections, that
sometimes have become Church property as a result of accidental circumstances,
have different provenance: private citizens, Church entities, civil
entities, other institutions.
During the post-Vatican
Council period the birth of "diocesan museums" increased. In a
variety of cases they were established in order to combat the danger of the
dispersion of the diocesan artistic patrimony. Similar to these "diocesan
museums", "parish museums", "monastic museums",
"convent museums", "museums of religious institutions" (for
example "missionary museums"), "museums of confraternities",
and of other ecclesiastical institutions are quite wide-spread today.
The museums we have
recalled refer to a single religious monument, a particular ecclesiastical
territory, a specific religious institute. Their nature is different as is the
aim they reflect. For example, museums of religious institutions present the
historical and geographical features of the presence and development of a
particular institute of consecrated life or a society of apostolic life within
a specific territory or, in a more general way, their work carried out in
various parts of the world. Other museums, such as parish and inter-parish
ones, reflect the specific territorial realities that are characterized by well
defined ecclesiastical jurisdictions and settings. Missionary museums, on the
other hand, reflect the cultures met through the work of evangelization by
often underlining the importance of cultural anthropology.
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