ROME- 12 March 2008 - 310 words
Vatican
opens exhibition of masterpieces from St Peter's
'Magnificenze Vaticane'. Masterpieces of Art from the Collections
of the Fabric of St Peter's" is the title of an exhibition
inaugurated yesterday afternoon at Palazzo Incontro in Rome. It
will remain open until 25 May.
The exhibition is being promoted by the Province of Rome and by
the European Centre for Tourism. It includes more than 130 works
on display for the first time, recovered from storage in the Vatican
Basilica, restored and examined by experts. "Magnificenze
Vaticane" is divided into various interrelated but autonomous
sections including architecture, painting and sculpture.
"The aim of such a meticulous distinction", says a communique
announcing the initiative, "is to show the plurality of interventions
on 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". Above all, the communique continues,
the aim 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 papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, universally
known as the centre 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 immortalised
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 communique also recalls that the Fabric
of St. Peter's was established by Julius II in 1506 to oversee
the various phases of the building of the new basilica and to
guarantee its subsequent maintenance.
Among the little-known works on display will be a roll of damask
with the arms of Pope Alexander VII, pyramidal reliquaries by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, candelabra and crosses purchased by Pope
Pius IX from the king of Naples, and a series of eighteenth-century
altar hangings in silk and gold.
The 1400s are represented in the sculpture section with the Four
Evangelists by Mino da Fiesole and Giovanni Dalmata, while the
Baroque is present in the form of works attributed to Gian Lorenzo
Bernini and Alessandro Aligardi. In the painting section, fragments
and frescoes from the interior of the basilica of St. Peter's
will be on display for the first time. Documents from the General
Historical Archive of the Fabric signed by Benevenuto Cellini,
Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, Bernini and others will also be on
show.
Source: VIS
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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