Museo e Tesoro del Duomo di Monza — Attraction in Monza

Phone ahead to book a tour of the Tesoro, with the excellent, English-speaking staff, and you could have a very special experience. Most visiting Monza will know of the Iron Crown, the ancient relic of Christendom, wielded by Charlemagne and Napoleon, etc etc. So, I was expecting there to be a large crowd of tourists. I was very wrong!

Instead, I was treated to an extended, 1-on-1 tour of the cathedral treasury and viewing of the Crown with an excellent guide, who was more than happy to explain all the history and legends surrounding this relic at length.

Still cannot believe I was the only one there. A very, very...

In my opinion this is one of the most incredible medieval museums in Europetotally underrated, but not didactic enough. There is not much left anywhere of the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the early Renaissance. This museum has several unique pieces of jewelry, the crown of with the iron nails, and every day articles. It's a bit of the missing link of what happened after the call of the Roman Empire. The museum is not interactive so it is more adequate for people with some background knowledge of the period and who already know they live history. We spent a whole...

Impressive treasury. The core of exhibition is a set of late antiquity and early middle ages artifacts. I adore this style: heavily golden and a lot of large gems, no way to find two similar ones. So many centuries had passed before this "imperfection" started to be so desirable in the modern art styles. I was also impressed with a diptych portraying Stilicho and his wife - such a touch to the history of the last days of Western Roman Empire it was. Iron Crown is located in the church in Theodelinda Chapel, ask on the museum desk how to get there if you want to...