Icons of Hope: Exhibition opens at Sant’Agnese in Agone on Monday

11 December 2024

From 16 December 2024 until 16 February 2025, the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome will host the exhibition "Icons of Hope. The path of faith in the Vatican Museums" - a unique exhibition dedicated to the icons of the East. The event, which forms part of the "Jubilee is Culture" season comes during the 2025 Jubilee year and is supported by the Dicastery for Evangelization in collaboration with the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage at the Vatican.

The exhibition is curated by Anna Pizzamano and Pietro Beresh from the Department for Byzantine-Medieval Art of the Vatican Museums.

“In total 18 works have been selected by our two curators, chosen from throughout the area of Christian Eastern Europe: Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Macedonia …” said the Director of Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta. “We have called them icons of hope, following the motto of the Jubilee, because they are vehicles of peace and brotherhood, as can be seen by the wide range of styles. Putting them together sends out the clear signal that we are all bearers of the same message. Most of the works are paintings which have been recently restored thanks to the commitment of the experts in the Paintings and Wooden Materials Laboratory and the Metals and Ceramics Laboratory. They have been supported by the work of the Scientific Research unit for the Cultural Heritage of the Vatican Museums.”

The works which have been restored by the Vatican Museums laboratories, range from the 15th to the 20th century and include votive icons, travel triptychs and menologies, made using different techniques, from tempera on wood to precious metal coverings enriched with enamels and precious stones.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said: “The icon is not just a painting. It can be seen as an authentic form of writing in which we can read the story of salvation. History confirms that many pilgrims carried an icon with them so as not to feel alone on their journeys. Instead, they felt as though they were in the company of the saints. We hope that those who have the opportunity to visit the exhibition will be able to contemplate the mystery that emerges from these icons so as to make their own the sanctity that they express."

The exhibition is free and is open every day from 9am to 7pm