News
Disgruntled American Tourist Smashes Roman Busts at the Vatican
The 65-year-old man was reportedly angry that he was not granted a meeting with the Pope.
Vatican
News
Climate Protesters Glue Themselves to Vatican Masterpiece
Two activists from the group Ultima Generazione glued their hands to the base of the ancient Roman statue “Laocoön and His Sons,” dubbed as a “prototypical icon of human agony.”
News
Indigenous Groups in Canada Call on the Vatican to Return Their Cultural Belongings
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leaders have asked for their cultural heritage to be returned ahead of the pope's visit to Canada.
News
Aquaman Star Jason Momoa Slammed for Photos Inside Sistine Chapel
The site of Michelangelo’s famous frescoes has a strict no-photos policy.
Art
A World-Famous Ancient Collection, on Display for the First Time, Awaits Visitors in Rome
The impressive exhibition undertaken by the Capitoline Museums and the Torlonia Foundation was 40 years in the making, and placed close to 100 marble sculptures from the storied Torlonia collection on view.
News
Why Is There an Astronaut in This Year's Vatican Nativity?
The Nativity, produced between 1965 and 1975 in a ceramic school in Abruzzo, has been mocked for its sci-fi aesthetics and inclusion of a Darth Vader-like character.
News
How Does the Vatican Protect Its Digitized Collection From Hackers?
The Vatican Apostolic Library says it experiences an average of 100 cyber threats every month since it started its digitization project in 2012.
News
Mexico Asks Vatican for Temporary Return of Ancient Indigenous Manuscripts
Ahead of the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has requested several manuscripts in the Vatican’s library.
Art
The Layers of History Behind Raphael’s Tapestries at the Sistine Chapel
Standing in the chapel last week, I had the feeling that I was seeing something I would never see again: the Sistine Chapel not just as a complete work of art, but as a complete cultural artifact, restored to its Renaissance appearance for a fleeting moment.
In Brief
Raphael’s Tapestries Unite at Sistine Chapel for the First Time Since the Renaissance
The tapestries — made out of silk, wool, and gold and silver thread — have been restored over the past decade by conservationists at the Vatican Museum.
News
Vatican Unveils New Sculpture as Homage to Refugees
“Angels Unaware” by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz shows 140 migrants in a refugee boat and is now on view in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square.
Art
The Divergence of Art and Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum
Presenting contemporary garments alongside Byzantine and Medieval artworks underlines the visual differences between the two genres of objects.