Museums in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Paul, Minnesota and Cleveland, Ohio will take turns being temporary home to an incredible collection of prized works of art from the Vatican Museum. Relics of St. Peter – including a recreation of the saint’s tomb – Papal election objects, personal belongings of Michelangelo, a look at how he created the famous ceiling frescoes and some of the earliest artistic renderings of Jesus are all included in the touring exhibit.

Last week’s opening of the exhibit at the Florida International Museum marks the debut of one of the largest collection of Vatican art to ever tour North America. The collection was designed to illustrate the Vatican’s impact on history throughout the past 2,000 years, and is timed to coincide with the 500^th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the establishment of the Papal Swiss Guard.

Girlawhirl can’t wait to get up close and personal with so many works of art and objects of historical significance. She just has to decide which Super Pal to impose on first. Though she thinks Florida at this time of year might be just the ticket.

Click here for more information and exhibit schedules for “Vatican Splendors From Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard.”

Painting the Sistine Chapel	Compass of Michelangelo Buonarroti
One of the exhibition's most dramatic rooms, this recreated environment takes visitors onto the scaffolding near the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to explore how Michelangelo painted his famous frescoes.	16th century - Iron 80 x 66 x 3 The Reverenda Fabbrica of Saint Peter, Vatican City State

Ring of Pope Pius VI (1775-1799)	Papal Tiara of Pius VII
1775 - Gold, brilliant cut diamonds, blue glass	(Gift from Napoleon Bonaparte) 1804 - Henry Auguste and Nitot, Paris
3.2 x 3 x 2.6 cm Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, Vatican City State	Cask: wood, velvet, silk; crown: gold precious stones; top: emerald, gold 44 x 26 x 26 cm Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, Vatican City State

Thanka	Mosaic Fragment with Image of Saint Paul the Apostle
Given by the XIV Dalai Lhama, Tibet - 1978 - Multi-colored silk, pearls, coral	ca. 799, restored by G. B. Calandra in 1625 - Mosaic
165 x 111 cm Vatican Museums, Vatican City State	59.7 x 39.7 x 9 cm Vatican Museums, Vatican City State

 

Cope of Pope Pius IX	Cathedra of Saint Peter
19th century - Red silk, gold leaf and silver thread, gold thread, metal bosses	20th century, copy of 1705 original - Inlaid oak
280 x 120 cm (folded) Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, Vatican City State	140 x 85 x 65 cm The Reverenda Fabbrica of Saint Peter, Vatican City State