Minute Mosaics: A New Exhibition in the Vatican Museums

On 16 May 2025, the new layout of the Vatican Museums' collection of Mosaici Minuti will be unveiled in the Galleries of the Library, in the historic Sala Paolina II.

A renewed, permanent exhibition itinerary invites visitors to rediscover one of the most fascinating expressions of 18th-century decorative arts: micromosaics.

At the heart of the exhibition is the placement of the works in the original 18th-century cabinets of the Gallery, furnishings created to preserve knowledge and now transformed into treasure chests to house the art of detail.

This meaningful exhibition choice reconnects micromosaic to its universe of reference: that of private wonder, silent contemplation, and precious objects to be discovered up close.

The origin of this form of expression is closely linked to St. Peter's Basilica, where, at the end of the 16th century, the Vatican Mosaic Studio was founded with the aim of replacing paintings with more durable mosaic works.

This tradition gave rise to micromosaic: a meticulous technique, initially applied to luxury objects, which later became a hallmark of the cosmopolitan taste of the Grand Tour.

The Vatican Museums' collection, one of the most important in the world, bears witness to the refinement of an art that transforms enamel tiles measuring just a few millimetres into delicate and powerful visions.

The new exhibition, curated by the Decorative Arts Department, will be presented on 16 May in the presence of Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, and Alvar González-Palacios, art historian, and Luca Pesante, head of the department.

The opening to the public is scheduled for Saturday 17 May 2025.
The project is part of a wider initiative to enhance the Vatican Museums' collections of applied arts.
An invitation to slow down, to come closer, to observe. Because only in this way - up close - does the infinitely small reveal all its greatness.