Caorle is a place, which is rich in history and millenary traditions and because of these features, it can boast a wide and valuable artistic and archaeological heritage that it is displayed in the city museums.
You do not have to lose the exhibition of the Cathedral Museum of Caorle in the rooms, which are next to the church and which are reachable thanks to the entry of the presbytery.
Many years ago, these rooms formed the Chapel of the Bishops. In 1975 the then Patriarch of Venice , Albino Luciano, inaugurated the Museum, which contains reliquaries, sacred vestments, examples of goldsmith’s art of Venice , and also early Christian finds of the church, which rose in the same place where today stands the Cathedral. The Paintings of the Apostles are very important. This is a cycle of six icons, which were attributed to the school of Paolo Veneziano. A beautiful silver Chapter Cross of 1534 must be mentioned.
The museum contains also some important relics: for example the Reliquary of the Precious Blood, which was realized by the goldsmiths of Venice, the Territory of the Calvary and a thorn, which is said to belong to the crown of Christ. Other relics are the cranium of Saint Stefan, the patron saint of the city, the arm of Saint Margaret, and some remains of Saint Gilbert, the two other saints, who are the co-patron saints of Caorle. In another room, the relics of Pope John XXIII are guarded. Guido and Giampaolo Gusso, the two inhabitants of Caorle, who were the personal attendants of the Pope, donated them to the museum.
As well as sacred art, fans of archaeology of the sea can also find their niche in Caorle. This is the National Museum of Archaeology of the Sea at the entrance to the city.
The museum brings together some of the most important prehistoric, Roman and mediaeval artefacts discovered in Caorle or submerged in the seabed. Amphorae, vases, coins, stone finds catalogued and well described will lead visitors to discover the secrets of Caorle’s ancient history. A screen also shows a video shot on the seabed of Caorle where an ancient Roman ship sank.
The first floor of the museum houses the permanent exhibition “TerredAcque”, displaying archaeological finds from the protohistoric village of San Gaetano, from the “Portus Reatinum” mentioned by Pliny the Elder, from the ancient city of “Caprulae”, and from the medieval and modern periods. On the ground floor there is an exhibition space for temporary installations. In the courtyard there is a tensile structure that typically houses a “trabaccolo”, a boat similar to the Latin and medieval ones.
At the end, few km far, in the hinterland, you will find the archaeological excavations of Concordia Sagittaria with their buildings, which date back to the Roman Age, and obviously the Concordiese National Museum, in Portogruaro, in Seminario Street. Here some very important relics are displayed: sarcophaguses, coins, brooches, stony relics, a beautiful female statue and ruins of external parts of buildings.
