Follow the remarkable journey of the Vatican Pinacoteca as paintings created for altars, monasteries, and private devotion were gradually gathered into a purpose-built gallery within the Vatican Museums. This lecture explores why certain works were relocated, how they were reframed and lit for museum display, and how interpretation evolved as sacred images entered a public setting.

You will encounter the popes, curators, and artists who shaped the Pinacoteca’s identity, examining papal patronage, the upheavals of the Napoleonic era, restoration campaigns, and the 20th-century architectural vision that gave the collection its present home. Through focused discussions of masterpieces such as Giotto’s Stefaneschi Triptych, Raphael’s Transfiguration, Caravaggio’s Entombment, and Leonardo da Vinci’s St. Jerome, we will connect theology, politics, technique, and display decisions within the gallery’s carefully structured narrative.

By the end of the hour, participants will understand how the Pinacoteca functions not simply as a repository of masterpieces, but as a deliberate curatorial statement—where provenance, conservation, interpretation, and spatial design work together to shape the viewer’s encounter with sacred art.