Wow!: Steady hearts, steady hands as Vatican experts restore masterpieces
PHILIP PULLELLA, of Reuters, reports on the work of the artwork restorers at the Vatican Museums…
Pope Francis invites artists to the Sistine Chapel as the Vatican seeks a new cultural dialogue
Vatican CityAP Pope Francis praised artists on Friday as true visionaries who can see, dream and invent as he welcomed 200 artists, filmmakers and writers into the Sistine Chapel to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Museums’ contemporary art collection. Francis acknowledged that some in the crowd – there was Andres Serrano, of Piss Christ fame […]
Vatican court sentences eco-activists to prison for damaging art
Vatican CityRNS Two environmental activists have been found guilty of vandalism for gluing themselves to a statue in the Vatican Museums. In the conclusion of the much-talked-about trial on Monday, Vatican judges sentenced the activists to nine months in prison and charged them a €1,500 fine with a suspended sentence of five years. Guido Viero, 61, […]
Beyond the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums says “we are much more”
Vatican CityReuters Barbara Jatta, the first woman to head the Vatican Museums, wants visitors to avoid being suffocated by the crowds and take in the lesser-known – but spectacular – attractions she helps to oversee. The Vatican Museums, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that closed or limited openings during the COVID-19 pandemic, have almost returned […]
Vatican takes climate activists to court on Laudato Si’ anniversary
Vatican CityRNS Climate change activists faced trial at the Vatican on Wednesday on vandalism charges for gluing themselves to the statue of “Laocoön and His Sons” in the Vatican Museums last summer. The trial of Ester Goffi, a 25-year-old art history student, and Guido Viero, a 61-year-old health worker, took place on the eighth anniversary of […]
Last Generation climate change activists to stand trial at the Vatican
Vatican CityRNS Three Italian environmental activists will face their second trial hearing at the Vatican on Wednesday for having glued themselves to the famous statue Laocoön and His Sons in the Vatican Museums last summer. Ester Goffi, a 25-year-old art history student, and Guido Viero, a 61-year-old health worker, glued their hands to the marble statue in […]
Pope says Vatican involved in secret Ukraine peace mission
Aboard the papal planeReuters The Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis said on Sunday, declining to give further details. “I am willing to do everything that has to be done. There is a mission in course now but it is not yet […]
Vatican unveils new ethnographic display of Rwanda screens
Vatican CityAP The Vatican Museums officially reopened its African and American ethnographic collections Thursday by showcasing intricately restored Rwandan raffia screens that were sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibit. The display at the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum featured a scientific presentation of the restoration process as well as the research […]
Greece asks others to ‘imitate’ Vatican return of Parthenon pieces
Vatican City Reuters The Vatican Museums gave Greece three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon on Tuesday and the Greek side said the gesture should be imitated by others, a likely reference to a collection of sculptures from the ancient temple that are held by Britain. The fragments have been in the papal collections of the […]
Man topples ancient Roman busts in Vatican museums
Vatican CityReuters A man toppled two ancient Roman busts in the Vatican Museums on Wednesday, causing moderate damage before being stopped by staff and arrested, a museums source said. People visit the Vatican Museums on the day of its reopening after weeks of closure, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions ease, at the Vatican, on 3rd […]