Lombard workshop, Monstrance of Voghera, partially gilded and enamelled silver, 1456 (inv. oreficerie 7)

Location: Rocchetta, 2nd floor, Room XXXII

The precious monstrance of Voghera, intended for the exhibition of the consecrated Host, is one of the most remarkable pieces of goldsmith’s work in the museum due both to its vibrant colour scheme (a result of the astute use of silver, gilding and blues and green enamels) and to its considerable size. The architecture of the piece, a recreation of the first spire of the Milan Cathedral (the Carelli spire, completed in 1406), is extraordinarily complex, full of small statues, aedicules, spires and gargoyles of monstrous appearance.
The inscription on the foot of the monstrance carries the name of the Collegiate of San Lorenzo for which it was created and the date May 26, 1456 (Completum fuit hoc tabernaculum pro plebe viqueriensi diocesis tortoniensis MCCCCLVI die XXVI madii).
The monstrance was acquired in 1915 from the Collegiate Church of San Lorenzo di Voghera (Pavia), thanks to a donation to the Civic Collections by the Countess Luisa Morelli di Popolo in memory of her husband Galeazzo Visconti.