The Diocesan Museum Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua is located in the main cloister of the former Augustinian monastery of Sant'Agnese. The Monastery was founded in the 14th century with the adjoining church full of works of art. The Monastery enjoyed great prestige so much that it hosted the Emperor Charles V. After the eighteenth-century suppression of all monasteries and convents, that of Sant'Agnese, once the church was demolished, was destined for civil use. The former convent was redeemed by the diocese in the twentieth century and, after a campaign of integral restorations, was used for school services. Later it became the seat of diocesan bodies and of the first museum nucleus. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art was inaugurated in 1983, following a collection of works of art of various kinds: paintings, sculptures, goldsmiths, fabrics, illuminated books, ceramics, ivories and warlike instruments. After the opening, the nucleus of works in the collection has always been growing becoming one of the major museums not only for the city, but the whole province. On 7 June 2008, following the new layout and the recovery of the neoclassical front, it was inaugurated with a dedication to Francesco Gonzaga. The Museum currently hosts, in addition to the permanent exhibition, also temporary exhibitions and conferences.