Vatican treasures on tour

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It’s not often the Vatican goes on a roadshow.

When you’re one of the planet’s foremost cultural and religious institutions, the world tends to come to you. Those who want to see art commissioned by the popes or vie for an up close look at Pope Benedict XVI’s fisherman’s ring generally have to brave a trip to Rome.

Not now, however.

“Vatican Splendors From Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard,” at Florida International Museum, brings some of the Catholic Church’s most exquisite items on a three-city U.S. tour.

It is not some watered-down collection, as the exhibit’s first room demonstrates.

“The Madonna del Sassoferrato,” a painting of the Virgin Mary that has graced many holiday cards but never been exhibited outside Rome, is one of the first works to greet visitors. And at the center of the room is a display case with a silver and gold reliquary said to contain the bones of St. Peter and other saints.

But the star of the room, and indeed the collection, is the Mandylion of Edessa. For believers, the gaunt, bearded face staring from the cloth is the likeness of Jesus, and is among a rare class of artifacts deemed “not made by human hands.”

Religious lore has it that Jesus pressed a handkerchief to his face, leaving an indelible imprint of his likeness much like the Shroud of Turin. Scientific evidence suggests it is a painting, but regardless, the object remains one of the Vatican’s prized possessions.

Other segments of the show offer similarly awe-inspiring pieces. Mosaics dating as far back as the 8th century, a compass supposedly used by Michelangelo, and portraits, statues and papal vestments are among the roughly 200 items on display.

“This is just a taste of all the wealth of art and its beauty the Vatican owns,” said Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli, one of three curators of the Vatican Museums.

He accompanied the exhibit to Florida, the first of three stops in the United States. After it closes here in May, the exhibit moves on to Cleveland, and finally St. Paul, Minn. The items then return to Rome, where they cannot be absent for more than a year.

“Even if you go to Rome, you won’t see some of these things,” said Peter Radetsky, a former professor and writer who helped develop the exhibit. “They’re just not displayed.”