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Diverse historical objects are ‘Vatican Splendors’
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BY: JENNIFER DADDARIO Staff Reporter
In early May, a special delivery from Vatican City arrived in Cleveland.
Inside large boxes were about 200 rare objects from the Vatican, some of which had never left Italy before.
The items are part of the “Vatican Splendors from Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard” exhibit at The Western Reserve Historical Society, which runs until September 7. It is the largest collection of art, documents and historically significant objects from the Vatican to be viewed in North America.
The exhibit will be of interest to people of all faiths because of the diverse objects present, says Mark Greenberg, president of Evergreen Exhibitions, the company that brought the show to Cleveland. “We are telling a story about the history of the church but also the history of its relationship with the world. It’s an amazing exhibit that provides a great lesson in history, art and culture.”
Items at Vatican Splendors include “Daniel in the Lions’ Den,” a terra cotta sculpture depicting a moment in the biblical Book of Daniel. The sculpture was created circa 1655 by the great Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini and has never been displayed outside the Vatican Museum.
Another item depicts a scene from the biblical Book of Judges. Titled “Brandeum,” it is a seventh- or eighth-century image of Samson and the lion. The image appears on a fragment of a cloth bag.
Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli, curator of the Vatican Museums, who selected the objects for this exhibit, was on hand May 22 when “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” was unpacked from the climate-controlled shipping crate it traveled in. As the terra cotta sculpture was unwrapped from the chemical-free foam and padding that surrounded it, Zagnoli spoke to the crowd through a translator. He called “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” one of the two “most important and significant pieces in the collection.”
Other items on exhibit include the white smoke-producing canister and ballots used in the election of Pope Benedict XVI, early maps and atlases of North America, and a compass Michelangelo may have used in building St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The Vatican Splendors exhibit will be shown only in three cities: St. Petersburg, Fla.; Cleveland; and St. Paul, Minn., because the items cannot be away from the Vatican for longer than a year, Greenberg says.
Over 500 years of history will be represented in the exhibit. It “doesn’t emphasize how good Christianity is,” says Zagnoli, “but how good man is.”
jdaddario@cjn.org
“It’s an amazing exhibit that provides a great lesson in history, art and culture.”
Mark Greenberg, president
Evergreen Exhibitions
Inside large boxes were about 200 rare objects from the Vatican, some of which had never left Italy before.
The items are part of the “Vatican Splendors from Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard” exhibit at The Western Reserve Historical Society, which runs until September 7. It is the largest collection of art, documents and historically significant objects from the Vatican to be viewed in North America.
The exhibit will be of interest to people of all faiths because of the diverse objects present, says Mark Greenberg, president of Evergreen Exhibitions, the company that brought the show to Cleveland. “We are telling a story about the history of the church but also the history of its relationship with the world. It’s an amazing exhibit that provides a great lesson in history, art and culture.”
Items at Vatican Splendors include “Daniel in the Lions’ Den,” a terra cotta sculpture depicting a moment in the biblical Book of Daniel. The sculpture was created circa 1655 by the great Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini and has never been displayed outside the Vatican Museum.
Another item depicts a scene from the biblical Book of Judges. Titled “Brandeum,” it is a seventh- or eighth-century image of Samson and the lion. The image appears on a fragment of a cloth bag.
Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli, curator of the Vatican Museums, who selected the objects for this exhibit, was on hand May 22 when “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” was unpacked from the climate-controlled shipping crate it traveled in. As the terra cotta sculpture was unwrapped from the chemical-free foam and padding that surrounded it, Zagnoli spoke to the crowd through a translator. He called “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” one of the two “most important and significant pieces in the collection.”
Other items on exhibit include the white smoke-producing canister and ballots used in the election of Pope Benedict XVI, early maps and atlases of North America, and a compass Michelangelo may have used in building St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The Vatican Splendors exhibit will be shown only in three cities: St. Petersburg, Fla.; Cleveland; and St. Paul, Minn., because the items cannot be away from the Vatican for longer than a year, Greenberg says.
Over 500 years of history will be represented in the exhibit. It “doesn’t emphasize how good Christianity is,” says Zagnoli, “but how good man is.”
jdaddario@cjn.org
“It’s an amazing exhibit that provides a great lesson in history, art and culture.”
Mark Greenberg, president
Evergreen Exhibitions
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