Governorate of Vatican City State - Vatican Museums
The Seven Churches of Rome
The Jubilee Itinerary in the photographs of Romualdo Moscioni (1849-1925)
One hundred years after the death of the photographer
PRESS RELEASE
Vatican City, 7 October 2025 – On the occasion of the celebration of the Jubilee 2025, the Vatican Museums present an extraordinary initiative uniting art, history and spirituality. With the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the traditional “tour” of the Seven Churches of Rome and the commemoration of the centenary of the death of Romualdo Moscioni (1849-1925), photographer from Viterbo and master of the lens, a dual anniversary of exceptional cultural and religious significance is celebrated.
The Papacy played an important role in the spread of photography, that disruptive eighth art, right from its origins: Pius IX was the first pontiff to be photographed (1846), paving the way for the use of the new medium as a tool for communication and self-representation.
The exhibition brings together a selection of photographs and materials from the Vatican Photo Library, dedicated to the traditional pilgrimage of the Seven Churches of Rome, an itinerary that over the centuries has represented one of the most significant spiritual experiences linked to the Holy Year. Through to the eye of Romualdo Moscioni, the “Master of the Lens”, these images take on a unique value: they are not only documentation of places and monuments, but true works of art capable of conveying the depth of devotional gesture and the historical memory of Rome.
The project is therefore intended to propose to the public a twofold interpretation: on the one hand, a rediscovery of the Jubilee itinerary of the Seven Churches, and on the other, an appreciation of the work of Moscioni, a special witness to the evolution of photography between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The exhibition and its catalogue aim to recount, through images of unique artistic and documentary value, the pilgrimage of the Seven Churches, combining historical memory, devotion and visual sensitivity in a tribute that takes on special significance in the year in which the Jubilee and the anniversary of the photographer's death coincide. The exhibition is held in Rooms XVII and XVIII of the Vatican Pinacoteca, offering the public, for the first time, the opportunity to enter Room XVIII, closed to the public until now.
Since the second half of the nineteenth century, photographers have captured the face of Rome through their shots, at the time transposed onto glass plates, providing us with the collective memory of the Eternal City that makes it unique in the world. This is how the historical museum photographic collection, preserved in the Photo Library, came into being, later consolidated with the arrival of the Moscioni Collection in the early 1930s. The Moscioni Collection is the pride of the historical collection preserved in the Vatican Museums’ Photo Library, with approximately 15,000 glass negatives acquired from the early 1930s. Drawing on Moscioni’s immense repertoire, we wanted to propose a theme, The Seven Churches of Rome, closely linked to the Holy Year. This pilgrimage, which has been documented since the seventh century, began to be practised more regularly after the establishment of the first Jubilee in 1300 by Boniface VIII, and become a tradition with Saint Philip Neri in the second half of the sixteenth century.
This contribution aims to outline a historical profile of the pilgrimage of the Seven Churches by analysing its origins, the evolution of the itinerary and the traditions that characterize this devotional practice, which still exists today. The exhibition is divided into seven sections, one for each church, starting with the Basilicas of Saint Peter, Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls, Saint Sebastian Outside-the-Walls, Saint John Lateran, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Saint Lawrence Outside-the-Walls and Saint Mary Major, with seven glass negatives and a large collection of silver bromide gelatin photographic prints. The exhibition is completed by a large-format reproduction of the ancient engraving of The Seven Churches of Rome published by Antoine Lafréry in 1575, conserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library and the photograph album with 36 albumen prints produced by Moscioni in a limited edition for the Holy Year of 1900.
With this exhibition, the Vatican Museums offer a unique opportunity to explore not only the memory of a great photographer, but also the spiritual and cultural tradition that has accompanied the life of the Eternal City for centuries.
The exhibition was presented to the press today in the presence of Barbara Jatta, Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage, and Paola Di Giammaria, Head of the Photo Library and curator of the exhibition, with the collaboration of Francesca Martusciello. The initiative enriches the programme of cultural events that the Museums are dedicating to the 2025 Jubilee, in line with the Holy Father’s wish that the Jubilee year be a time of grace and beauty for all the faithful on their pilgrimage.
“The Moscioni Collection”, said Barbara Jatta, “is the pride of the historic photographic collection held in the Vatican Photo Library, with approximately 15,000 glass plates acquired from the heirs in the early 1930s, which bear witness to a flourishing activity carried out at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries”.
“Romualdo Moscioni’s photographs are original historical testimonies to the complex relationship between history, art and faith, architecture and archaeology in a city as complex and incomparable as Rome: a historical heritage that is at the same time active and unique”, said Paola Di Giammaria.
Programme
Thursday 9 October 2025
10.00: Entrance from Viale Vaticano upon presentation of the invitation at the exit of the Vatican Museums.
10.30: Beginning of the presentation, Rooms XVII and XVIII of the Vatican Pinacoteca.
The speakers will be:
Barbara Jatta: Director of Museums and Cultural Heritage
Paola Di Giammaria: Head of the Photo Library, Vatican Museums
Francesca Martusciello: Photo Library, Vatican Museums
Exhibition details:
The exhibition is housed in Rooms XVII and XVIII of the Vatican Pinacoteca, and is included in the entrance ticket to the Vatican Museums, observing the opening hours (8.00 to 20.00 every day except Sunday).
The exhibition will be open to the public from Thursday 9 October, and accompanied by a scientific catalogue.
Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply via the Holy See Pres Office online accreditation system, at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti
All applications must be received no later than 24 hours before the event.
Info:stampa.musei@scv.va
