The city of Pozzuoli didn’t have a proper diocesan museum as this function was supplied by the numerous churches present in the territory, containing relevant works of art. Among these, the most important was the Cathedral of San Procolo on Rione Terra, which was for centuries the heart of the city and of the diocese itself. In May 1964, a big fire caused the loss of much of the citizen artistic heritage. In addition, the forced evacuation of Rione Terra in 1970 due to the bradyseism and the evacuation of the old town between 1983 and 1984 due to an earthquake swarm, brought to the creation of new neighborhoods far away from the promontory. The Old Town of Pozzuoli stayed abandoned for a long time and its artistic heritage was stolen or lost.

To safeguard the memory of the art of Pozzuoli, at the end of the 70’s, the bishop of Pozzuoli, Sorrentino, worked for the opening of a diocesan museum. In 2000, by the will of the bishop Padoin, a first section was set up in the rooms of the Curia in the so-called “village of the child”. The final place was inaugurated by the bishop Pascarella on May 20^th 2016, on Rione Terra, in the bishop’s palace former diocesan seminary rooms. Walking through the museum rooms, starting from the sacred, an important piece of history is rebuild, as shown in the emblem of the city.