Consigned to history for its legacy as the City of Theodolinda, Modoetia, whose name derives from Modicia, like many Italian urban centres experienced an intense medieval period marked by the dualism between a fervent religious life and the dynamic evolution of civil and community life.
On the one side the religious institutions, on the other the guilds of Arts and Crafts and trade regulated by municipal statutes: these were the activities that contributed to the social cohesion and economic prosperity of the town.
Of this past, one can see in this section a few but emblematic objects that recall the memory of the time and refer to the religious and civil context.
A bronze bushel, the municipality’s ancient official unit of measurement, relates to a block of serizzo (in the cloister) which, originally placed under the Arengario, served as a veritable ‘touchstone’, with its signs and hollows referring to length and capacity.
Stones carved or engraved with religious symbols attest the strong spiritual dimension of medieval man. The Lamentation on the Dead Christ by Giuseppe Meda returns to its original place after being ripped out in the 1930s and closes the Museum’s medieval itinerary and, considering Meda’s presence also in the adjacent Duomo, confirms the fruitful relationship in the city between civil and religious excellence.
01: Lombard sculptor, Semi-capital with the “Visitation”. Stone, first half of the XIII century
02: Medieval measure. Gneiss, XIII century
03: ushel of the City of Monza. Bronze, XV century
04: Giuseppe Meda, Lamentation on fhe Dead Christ with St Jhon. Torn fresco moved on canvas, 1564
05: Form for casting with religious scenes. Marble, end of XIII – start of XIV century