The museum is part of the Basilica of Saint Francis complex. It is home to many paintings, wooden sculptures, medieval glazed majolica, ivories, fabrics, gold work, and tapestries. Also here is the collection of Fred Mason-Perkins (1874-1955), an American art critic who left his private collection of art to the Sacred Convent of St. Francis. The collection consists of 57 works of authors from varied schools such as the Siennese, Florentine, Venetian, Veronese and Emiliana, which date from the 14th and the 16th Century.