Museo Diocesano Tridentino

Of particular interest are the tapestries exhibited on the second floor of the museum, which were made in Brussels, in the atelier of Peter van Edinghen - the most important entrepreneur and producer of tapestries at the time, known as van Aelst - and purchased in Antwerp in 1531 by the Prince Bishop Bernardo Cles (1514-1539). These were originally used to decorate the room of the Torrione di Sopra, in the residence of the Castello del Buonconsiglio; during the Council they were also precious furnishings of the hall created in the choir of the Cathedral of San Vigilio and, as part of a cycle of stories about the Passion of Christ, were defined "extraordinary and perhaps unique in Italy".

The works on display in the museum, covering a chronological period between the 13thand the 19th century, are evidence of the rich local artistic production destined to places of worship in the diocese. The museum is also responsible for the custody of the Paleochristian Basilica of San Vigilio and of the archaeological evidences found during the excavations that took place between 1964-1977 under the Cathedral.

In the museum there are also some artworks which testify the sad sequence of events concerning the consecrated Simonino, a child allegedly victim of a Jewish ritual murder, revered for centuries as an innocent “martyr”.

The most significant works are:

- the polychrome wooden relief depicting the scene of the alleged martyrdom of Simonino. The work was part of the monumental polyptych originally located on the main altar of the Church of San Pietro and built at the beginning of the sixteenth century in the workshop of the sculptor of Ulm Daniel Mauch.

- a big panel painting commissioned by the Prince Bishop Johannes Hinderbach (1466-1486); a work probably made for the bishop’s sepulchral monument. The composition depicts the Virgin Mary with the Child and beside them four Saints: Pietro and Paolo on the right, Giovanni Battista, protector of the prelate, and Girolamo, protector of the humanists, on the left. Below, on the right, the bishop himself appears, wearing a miter and cloaked in a precious cope.

Prince Bishop Hinderbach supported from the beginning the guilt of the Jews and the idea of the ritual murder, playing an important role in the whole affair. Moreover, he promoted the worship of the child with all the means at his disposal, in the hope of obtaining official recognition of the holiness of Simon by the Pope.