The Domagnano Treasure: Ostrogothic Elegance in the Republic of San Marino and Its Link to the British Museum
Are you ready to hear a fascinating story? It concerns a treasure discovered at the end of the nineteenth century in the territory of the Republic of San Marino—today part of I Borghi più Belli d’Italia circuit as a foreign state where Italian is spoken. This story involves some of the world’s most famous museums, including the British Museum in London, the oldest and certainly one of the most prestigious. With around twenty thousand visitors a day, it displays nearly eight million objects.
Founded in 1759, admission has always been completely free, except for short periods; however, it is advisable to book your visit online well in advance. A great deal of patience is required: you have to go up and down between rooms several times and find your way through the crowds—it is not at all easy to reach a specific destination quickly.
In the capital of the United Kingdom, together with my wife Sandra, we decided to take our children Giorgio and Gabriele. Gabriele’s English teacher, Prof. Angela Garufi from the Language High School (Liceo Linguistico), had recommended that he not miss this wonderful opportunity to discover, at the British Museum, the Domagnano Treasure—linked to one of the nine Castles of the Republic of San Marino (not medieval fortresses, but administrative divisions similar to municipalities), the place where it was found. So, we turned the visit into a real treasure hunt. We did it without a guide, with three hours available, and with a truly special final prize: if any of us found it within the set time, we would attend one of the most spectacular musicals of all time in London, The Phantom of the Opera.
It should be noted that the British Museum, which tells the story of humanity, houses artifacts that arrived from every continent.
And indeed, in the Europe Area—this Old Continent overflowing with history and art—we returned for the second time. In the third hour of the visit, with eyes full of images and minds flooded with a triumph of colors and extraordinary finds, Gabriele’s voice, about thirty meters away, broke through the visitors’ murmur and proudly announced the long-awaited words: “It’s here!” (Room 41, opposite the Sutton Hoo Treasure)
Making our way through one gap in the crowd after another, we finally found ourselves face to face with the splendid Domagnano Treasure, an important archaeological discovery made in 1892 in Domagnano itself. Dated to the late 5th and early 6th century AD, in the Early Middle Ages, it demonstrates the presence of Germanic populations in central Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The artifacts impress with their high artistic quality and the richness of their materials. Made of gold and decorated with sparkling garnets, they clearly reflect Byzantine influence on the Ostrogothic court, testifying to the deep cultural and political ties between the Germanic world and the Eastern Empire.
The treasure includes a varied set of ornamental and functional items: gold jewelry such as fibulae, rings, earrings, and pendants from a necklace, decorated with precious stones (especially garnets) using the cloisonné technique (similar to mosaic work); decorative appliqués including a large boss depicting a helmeted head; a hairpin; chains; and fittings for the sheaths of small knives.
Today, only a small part of the treasure remains in San Marino: a small gold boss, probably intended to decorate a bag or a small casket.
Precisely to fill this absence and return this important heritage to the public in its entirety, between 2004 and 2006 the Domagnano Treasure became the focus of a major experimental reconstruction project promoted by the Rotary Club of San Marino and the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation of the Republic of San Marino. It was carried out by the Bolognese master goldsmith Marco Casagrande who, in addition to offering an overall view, also made it possible to deepen knowledge of the technical and artistic skills of Gothic goldsmiths.
The burial set evokes the image of a woman of extremely high rank, for whom jewelry was not only ornament but also a symbol of status and identity.
The reproductions of the jewelry from the Gothic Treasure of the Lady of Domagnano—created according to the principles of experimental archaeology and using techniques compatible with ancient ones—are now displayed in the Archaeology section of the Territory at the State Museum of San Marino, located in the historic center, at Palazzo Pergami Belluzzi in Piazzetta del Titano.
With the exception of this single artifact, all the other elements are dispersed among major international museums such as the British Museum in London, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. An additional pendant, held at the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, is also attributed to the Domagnano Treasure.
But how did these artifacts end up in the international museum circuit?
Immediately after its discovery, the jewelry entered the antiquities market. At the end of the nineteenth century there was strong demand—especially from museums and collectors in Northern Europe and the English-speaking world—for “barbarian” and Late Antique artifacts, which were then the subject of great scientific interest.
The treasure was therefore sold in multiple lots, encouraging its fragmentation. At that time, major European and American museums were engaged in systematic acquisition campaigns to enrich their collections and establish themselves as international research centers.
The purchase of objects—or entire collections such as the Domagnano Treasure—therefore took place legally through art dealers, in accordance with the laws of the time, and resulted from a combination of historical, legal, and cultural factors typical of the late nineteenth century, when archaeological heritage protection was not yet regulated by strict laws like those of today.
The presence of only one element in the State Museum nevertheless strongly underscores the symbolic value of the Domagnano Treasure for San Marino. This dispersion, while depriving the original site of unified possession, has significantly contributed to its international fame. Indeed, the presence of the artifacts in some of the world’s most important museums has exponentially expanded the Domagnano Treasure’s audience, permanently placing it within the circuits of high-level archaeological research and dissemination. In this sense, the fragmentation of the burial set may also be interpreted as a factor that fostered greater diffusion and recognition of its exceptional historical and artistic value well beyond the Republic’s borders.
A Hundred Years Later.
On the occasion of the centenary of the discovery, an unprecedented exhibition was organized at the request of the Secretariat of State for Foreign Affairs and the Culture Department of the time. For the first time ever, the entire original collection was presented to the public thanks to the collaboration of all the museums worldwide which exceptionally loaned the pieces in their possession for the event.
We report some reflections by the then Deputy for Culture Pier Marino Menicucci, taken from the valuable publication “I Goti a San Marino” published in 1995:
“For the people of San Marino, on whom the regret of having lost such a large and important heritage will weigh heavily, the Domagnano Treasure will exude the flavor and charm of ancient presences, of cultures and customs that drew near to our small land, permeated by all those legacies that have marked its path over the centuries. Beyond the consensus and success that the exhibition will be able to arouse among the tourist crowd that sometimes too hastily climbs Mount Titano, while the significance and prestige of the initiative for its high cultural content remain, the wonder of an ancient memory will endure in the souls of the Sammarinese—brought to light a hundred years ago after 1400 years of burial in the limbo of history.”
“The Gothic Treasure of Domagnano represents one of the most important complexes of Ostrogothic goldsmithing and one of the most significant archaeological discoveries linked to the history of San Marino,” says Teodoro Lonfernini, Secretary of State for Education and Culture of San Marino. “Its presence in San Marino’s territory—extraordinary in quality, richness, and symbolic value—attests to a historically prominent role of Mount Titano within the European context. The technical refinement of the artifacts and the purity of the gold make it a set of exceptional artistic and cultural significance. At the same time, the mystery still surrounding the context of the discovery helps increase its fascination and scientific interest. The Domagnano Treasure remains a fundamental testimony to the depth and continuity of San Marino’s history.”
Archaeological surveys and excavations carried out by the State Museums in the countryside of Domagnano since 1996 have brought to light Roman and Late Antique settlements a short distance from the area traditionally identified as the site where the Domagnano Treasure was discovered.
Gallery:
Acknowledgements for collaboration:
Si ringraziano per la collaborazione:
British Museum di Londra
Istituti Culturali-Museo di Stato della Repubblica di San Marino
Olga Romano – Official Guide London
Sandra Jacopucci
Liberatoria prot. n. 00004214 del 15 gennaio 2026 e le immagini:
– Tesoro di Domagnano, montatura pseudorettangolare del Museo di Stato (fine V – inizi VI secolo d.C.; n. inv. MSRSM C/640; © Istituti Culturali-Museo di Stato della Repubblica di San Marino)
– Museo di Stato della Repubblica di San Marino, sala II – Riproduzioni archeologiche dei gioielli e degli accessori di ornamento del Tesoro di Domagnano e ipotesi ricostruttiva della loro disposizione (riproduzioni archeologiche realizzate dall’orafo e archeologo sperimentale Marco Casagrande negli anni 2004-2006 e 2022; n. inv. MSRSM G/940/1-23)
Giornalista detentore dal 2015 del Guinness World Records TV e Ambasciatore Borghi più Belli d’Italia.
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