Dear
Patrons of the Arts,
It is with great pleasure
that I present to you the 2008 Wishbook! Thanks
to the collaboration of the various departments that
make up the Vatican Museums, and the valuable help
of the Museum Direction we are able to offer you a
wide variety of restoration projects.
Last year we successfully finished
several projects from previous Wishbooks, such as
the painting of Our Lady with Child, St Anne and St
Joachim which hangs as the altarpiece in the newly
renovated chapel of the Governatorato. The fireplace
of Julius II in the Borgia apartments also stands
gleaming in place thanks to the restoration it received
over the last year. The Triptych with the Crucifixion
returned to the office of the Secretary for the Administration
of the Patrimony of the Holy See, in the Apostolic
Palace. The beautifully embellished silver cruet,
dated V Century A.D., is on display in the new shelves
of the Museo Sacro. Not to mention the major ongoing
restorations in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican
and Sistine Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore.
The 2008 Wishbook includes exciting
new projects such as the display of Pius XI with all
the artefacts included, two very impressive set of
Samurai Armour, two statues in the centrally located
in the Cortile of the Pigna, a pair of globes that
sit along the much travelled corridor returning from
the Sistine Chapel. Deserving special mention is the
project to make the Egyptian Museum more user-friendly
and interactive for the visually impaired.
There are also several projects included
from previous Wishbooks. One of these projects is
the restoration of the bookshelves lining the hallway
returning from the Sistine Chapel. I invite you to
consider these projects that have substantial worth
and importance for the Vatican collection. Thanks
to your generosity over the years, our painting restoration
specialists have more work than they can handle and
preferred not to offer any new projects this year
so as to concentrate on finishing those projects that
are pending.
In the pages that follow you will
find the traditional presentation of each project,
with slight innovations. Each project of the Wishbook
has a special value which is highlighted by the descriptive
paragraph under the statistics of each photo. The
“state of preservation” briefly highlights
the present condition of the piece. The principal
steps of the restoration process follows in bullet
form.
Bigger projects are on the horizon
such as projects at the Pinacoteca of St Paul Outside
the Walls and the construction of a new wing for the
Museums. Other major projects continue progressing
– the Pauline Chapel, whose rhythm of work has
picked up of late, the Sistine chapel at St Mary Majors
and others.
I am conscious that all of you are
interested in a wide range of projects and I am confident
that we can offer ever more meaningful and ambitious
projects. Together, we will keep growing and keep
serving future generations by protecting, preserving
for and promoting one of the most eclectic and impressive
collections of any museum in the world.
Sincerely yours,
Rev. Fr. Mark Haydu, LC
International Director
of the Patrons of the Arts
in the Vatican Museums
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