Vatican Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art and Culture in the Vatican and Italy

U.S.A.: Gingko Press Inc, 1993. First Edition . Trade Paperback. Fine. 10" x 11. 303 Pages. Maroon paper wrappers with white titles to front and spine. Flawless interior pages filled with many if not most full color illustrations. This book is about the Vatican Treasures exhibit at the Colorado History Museum in 1993 that was planned at the request of Pope John Paul II to coincide with World Youth Day when Catholic youth from seventy countries came to Denver. On Thursday, August 12, 1993, his first day in Denver, a full house of 90,000 welcomed the Pope at Mile High Stadium The Pope addressed his vast WYD congregation every day of their joint visit. In 1992, while making preparations for World Youth Day and the Pope's visit, representatives from the Vatican came to the Colorado History Museum. They explained that the exhibition would trace 2000 years of Christianity through Saint Peter, his tomb, the basilica of Saint Peter, the colonnades of Saint Peter's piazza, the pilgrimages and celebrations of the Church, and the artistic manifestations of the Church throughout the regions of Italy. Although Colorado Historical Society staff felt that it would be difficult to assemble artifacts of Italy, design and install the exhibit, in less than a year, the staff believed an exhibition would be a wonderful way to place World Youth Day and the papal visit into historical perspective. After a visit to Rome in January 1993 and viewing treasures in the Vatican library and the tomb of Saint Peter they returned to Denver. The Society's Board of Directors voted to proceed with the exhibition. For Colorado History Museum visitors, Vatican Treasures represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the art and history of a culture which helped to shape western civilization on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. This is the Catalogue of that exhibition. Contents: Art for the Liturgy, The Image of Peter, Morello From the Tomb to the Dome The Architectural Evolution of the Memorial to the Apostle Peter, On Saint Peter's Tomb, Old Saint Peter's: The Original Basilica, Jubilee and Pilgrimage, The Modern Basilica, With Open Arms: Bernini's Piazza, Catalogue, The Ways of the Apostles, The Pilgrims' Ways, The Ways of the Artists, Art and Celebration, Art and Devotion, Art and Artists, and Catalogue. Plus a Glossary.