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Jubilees - Rare Documents from the Vatican Collections
Jubilees - Rare Documents from the Vatican Collections
Entitled "Jubilees. Rare Documents from the Vatican Collections, " it will accompany pilgrims and visitors to the Museums throughout the Holy Year, beginning on 5 March.
The result of collaboration between the Vatican Museums and the Vatican Apostolic Archives, the exhibition is spread out in the charming and historic rooms adjacent to the Sistine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Library: the Pauline Rooms, which will be exceptionally open to the public for this special Jubilee initiative, hosting an exhibition for the first time.
The three Pauline Rooms were the first home of the 'new' Pontifical Archives of the Holy See, established by Paul V Borghese between 1610 and 1612. Already used as the residence of the cardinals librarians of the Holy Roman Church, they had remained unused after the death of Cardinal Cesare Baronio in 1607. The rooms were furnished with poplar cabinets bearing the coats of arms of the Borghese family and frescoed in the upper part with a cycle of historical scenes. The protagonist of almost every scene is a written document, whose preservation was ensured by the archives, an instrument of government and protection of the spiritual and territorial interests of the Roman Church.
The exhibition is designed to introduce visitors to the meaning of the Jubilee, inviting them to experience the visit from both a spiritual and historical-artistic point of view, testifying to the importance of the documentary and 'material' aspects linked to the Holy Year.
"The Apostolic Archives are thus opening up to a wider audience, with a valuable selection of Jubilee documents in rooms that are normally inaccessible," emphasises Father Rocco Ronzani, Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives - confirming its role as custodian of the memory of the history of the Church and of humanity'.
Through the objects on display, it will be possible to rediscover the ceremonies and liturgies of the jubilee years. Among these are some precious original documents from the Vatican Apostolic Archives, such as the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilees of 1475, 1925, 1975 and 2000, together with the latest one signed by Pope Francis for the proclamation, on 9 May 2024, of the 2025 Jubilee 'Pilgrims of Hope'.
Visitors to the first room will be greeted by the original Bull of Boniface VIII announcing the First Jubilee in 1300, an important loan granted by the Vatican Apostolic Library for a limited period. Along the exhibition route, visitors will be able to admire a rich display from the Vatican Museums (Decorative Arts Department) with more than thirty objects symbolising past jubilees and others that indirectly bear witness to lesser-known aspects of the lives of pilgrims on their way to the Roman basilicas. The most eye-catching items are the everyday tools of the bricklayer, such as bricks, hammers and trowels, which became symbols of the opening and closing of the holy doors and were only later created by famous master goldsmiths and silversmiths based on designs by great artists. Of particular beauty are those made of silver, ivory, pearls and precious stones for Pius XI, on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1925, by Pio Cellini based on a design by Biagio Biagetti, then artistic director of the Vatican Museums, who set up a small gold workshop in his office in the Hall of Blessings.
The polychrome marble sign, also chosen as the symbol of the exhibition, dates back to the Jubilee of 1600. It was placed on the Holy Door at the time of its closure and indicated the place where the box containing the keys and medals of the Pope was inserted.
Among the objects on display that still arouse curiosity among scholars today is the 'pilgrim's staff': a work in bamboo that has intrigued several scholars and probably dates back to the mid-17th century. Scene from the Old and New Testaments, the coat of arms of Pope Innocent X and a representation of St. Peter's Basilica taken from an engraving by Greuter are painted on the surface with a thin stroke of black ink. Contemporary chronicles tell of aristocratic men belonging to confraternities in northern Italy and central Europe who entered Rome carrying sticks painted with a complex decorative cycle.
Useful information
Exhibition: Jubilees. Rare Documents from the Vatican Collections
Location: Pauline Halls - Vatican Apostolic Archives (access from the Lower Galleries of the Vatican Museums)
Duration: from March 5, 2025
Ticket: free and included in the entrance ticket to the Museums
Time: follows that of the Museums