Maestà mariana

Over its history, the statue has been moved and exhibited in many different settings. Perhaps conceived to occupy a place of honor on the Cathedral’s façade, but never actually sited there due to the failure to complete the exterior, it was placed above the main altar and remained there until the second half of the 1500s. In 1568 it was removed from the “Altar grande” and, subsequently, transferred to a niche on the eastern side of the new bell tower, construction of which began in March 1570 and was terminated two years later. In 1982, for reasons of preservation, the statue was removed and relocated in the Cathedral crypt. In 1985 it was restored by Ottorino Nonfarmale on the behest of the local office for the preservation of monuments and cultural heritage and, subsequently, for the 2000 Jubilee Year, it was replaced by a copy while the original was given a place of honor in the Diocesan Museum which opened on October 30, 1999.