Museum of Christian Art

The Museum of Christian Art is housed in the Convent of Santa Monica in Old Goa, once one of the largest nunneries in Asia. The museum was first set up at the Rachol Seminary in 1994 and moved to its present home in 2002, with support from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Its collection is one of the finest of its kind in Asia, showing how Christian art developed in Goa through the work of local craftsmen. Exhibits include ivory figures, silver processional crosses, vestments, paintings, furniture and church plate. Many pieces blend European religious themes with Indian materials and techniques. The convent building itself, with its cloisters and chapel, is part of the experience. The museum is close to St Augustine Tower and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. It is worth the trip for its rich collection and atmospheric setting.