Vatican Launches Contemporary Art Gallery with Inaugural Exhibition by Pietro Ruffo

Pope Francis inaugurates a new contemporary art gallery at the Vatican Apostolic Library on 5 November, marking the institution's entry into modern art. The temporary exhibition space, housed in the historic library building dating to the sixteenth century, will feature artist Pietro Ruffo's show EVERYONE: Humanity on its way, running until February. Ruffo's site-specific installation transforms the gallery into a tropical forest, with his works placed alongside historic artifacts like a seventeenth-century Nile map by explorer Evliya Çelebi. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the Vatican's librarian, stated the gallery aims to support cultural encounter and strengthen the Vatican's role in the contemporary world. Ruffo described his engagement with the library's vast patrimony as a journey through knowledge, geography, and human history. The papal library's origins trace back to the fourth century, providing a rich backdrop for this new cultural initiative.