The exhibition titled “The Beauty of the Sacred: The Medici Altar and the Gifts of the Kings” will be open to the public until January 7, 2025.

Florence – Italy (09/17/2024 14:32, Gaudium Press) The “Marino Marini” Museum in Florence has inaugurated an exhibition titled “The Beauty of the Sacred: The Medici Altar and the Gifts of the Kings,” which will be open to the public until January 7, 2025. This showcase features 108 works of extraordinary historical and artistic value, including pieces from the Custody of the Holy Land. The collection includes sacred artifacts, jewelry, religious ornaments, sacred vestments, manuscripts, and baldachins preserved by the Franciscans for over 500 years.

This exhibition celebrates the deep connection between the Holy Land and Italy through the centuries. It is a result of collaboration between the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem and the ‘Marino Marini’ Museum, with contributions from other important Italian museums that have loaned their works.

One of the main highlights is the Calvary Altar, also known as the “Ornament of Ferdinando I de’ Medici.” This piece, donated by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, recently returned to Italy after being restored to its original splendor.

Another aim of the exhibition is to promote beauty as a tool for fostering a culture of peace and combating all forms of violence and conflict. Given the current divisions in the Holy Land, the exhibition serves as a means to rediscover the spiritual and cultural roots that unite us through the universal power of art.

“As Franciscans, we deeply believe that culture can heal wounds when all other doors are closed. This is our goal in creating the first Christian art museum in Jerusalem: to offer the possibility of encounter. The Church must be inventive and creative. We have no right to give up,” stated Brother Stephane Milotovitch, director of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Custody of the Holy Land and head of the Terra Sancta Museum project. (EPC)

Compiled by Gustavo Kralj

Explore the Medici Altar and Holy Land treasures at Florence’s Marino Marini Museum until January 7, 2025. A celebration of sacred art and peace.