Vatican City, Mar 11, 2008 / 08:42 am
"'Magnificenze Vaticane' Masterpieces of Art from the Collections of the Fabric of St. Peter's" is an exhibition due to be inaugurated this afternoon at Palazzo Incontro in Rome. The display will feature never seen before Vatican artworks from the 14th to 20th centuries.
The exhibition, which will remain open until May 25, is being promoted by the Province of Rome and by the European Centre for Tourism and includes more than 130 works restored and examined by experts who recovered them from storage in the Vatican Basilica. "Magnificenze Vaticane" is divided into various interrelated but autonomous sections including architecture, painting and sculpture.
The announcement states that the “aim of such a precise distinction is to show the diversity of works at a single site (the basilica of St. Peters) and to bear witness to the quality of workmanship even in fields usually held to be of lesser importance". The overarching goal is to reveal the variety and creative ability of the main figures on the Roman artistic scene who in all times - from the 14th to the 20th century - aspired to leave their mark on the Vatican Basilica."
The exhibit will help visitors to experience art of past ages. "The papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, universally known as the center of Christianity, houses a vast number of important monuments, the fruit of the abilities and creativity of the greatest artists of all ages. Yet before their sparks of genius were immortalized in stone or bronze, there was a phase in which the work of art was planned and assessed. The rediscovery of traces of this precious heritage of the past ... is the theme of this great and unique exhibition," the announcement says.