The nun of Monza

Between literature and historical reality, lights and shadows of an emblematic character

An emblematic figure of the seventeenth-century Monza, Sister Virginia Maria de Leyva – the Manzonian Gertrude – vividly embodies in the tormented events of her existence a feminine universe linked to the phenomenon of forced marriages.

Opposed and fought by the ecclesiastical institutions, but pursued with tenacity by the noble families, concerned to safeguard the integrity of the heritage, these monachy constitute a widespread phenomenon and also investigated by historical research, topos iterated in the literature up to our days, several times proposed in a scandalous key with mediocre artistic effects and little relevance to the complexity of the phenomenon.

From the Museum’s Bookshop
Duomo di Monza - Dizionario
Direzione scientifica: Roberto Cassanelli, Renato Mambretti, Giustino Pasciuti
Prefazione di S.E. Card. G. Ravasi
Ed. Fondazione Gaiani (marzo 2020)
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The visitors of the Museum

“A wonderful place to get lost and travel back in time to know the History”

Mattia Manzoni

A little gem to discover

The Cathedral of Monza, together with the chapel of Teodolinda and the Museum, is a small gem to discover (and rediscover) in the heart of Lombardy. Exhibition rich in late-antique and Lombard artifacts (if you studied art history, half of the illustrations of your book will see them live here), the small museum of the Cathedral is worth a visit, given the overall negligible cost to access it.
Different speech for the Chapel of Theodolinda, which requires mandatory reservation. If you want to do it directly on the spot, we recommend that you aim for the less frequented times, so as to find free places. In any case, it is a destination that I strongly recommend and that deserves, alone, the visit of Monza. It is a 360 degrees immersion in the great art of the fifteenth century and in the history of the duchy of Milan, of which Monza was one of the protagonists.

Giorgio Alfredo Spedicato

Absolutely recommended

I visited this museum during a weekend in early January. The museum is not very large, but it shows with skill various paintings and ancient artifacts of mainly religious theme. Absolutely recommended for lovers of the late Roman and early medieval period.

Fabio Mini

Truly unique treasures

The museum is well stocked with well-preserved medieval finds. Truly unique treasures. To see the crown, wonderful iron, you must book the visit with a guide as it is located inside the cathedral in the chapel of Theodolinda that I recommend visiting.

Mariantonia Ronchetti

Chapel of Theodolinda: wonderful

Chapel of Theodolinda: wonderful. Excellent guide and its directions. The museum is very well set up and preserves treasures worthy of note. With the purchase of the ticket you will receive “your passport” with all the artistic sites of the city of Monza.

Cristy Giuliani

Fourteen centuries of history art among unique masterpieces

Quando si visita il duomo di Monza bisognerebbe visitarne anche il museo e la cappella di Teodolinda.
Quattordici secoli d’arte di storia tra capolavori unici al mondo, dall’eredità Longobarda all’arte contemporanea, mentre nella cappella Teodolinda ci sono 45 splendide scene dipinte dagli zavattari e la Corona ferrea custodita dentro la cappella. La guida alla cappella viene fatta ogni mezz’ora ed è quasi obbligatoria la prenotazione.

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Museum and Treasury of Monza Cathedral
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