About holy see pavilion
learn more about Vatican's (holy see) pavilion
vatican city's
Holy See Pavilion
The Holy See Pavilion embodies Vatican City’s contribution to the Expo 2020, with the theme statement “deepening the connection”. The concept is based on brotherhood, fraternity, and connection between cultures, while generating a message of peace to the entire world, through the human fraternity agreement signed in 2019 between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam Al Azhar. The pavilion is a place where people follow an elliptical direction as they find information and contents in niches as in a museum, where you find apses and architectural recessed spaces. Visitors will discover different art installations, and that the walls are an art installation by themselves; reflecting the heritage, knowledge, and legacy that the Vatican consistently shares to the world, through the thousands of words from Pope Francis’ encyclical letter that are translated to over a hundred languages.
Holy See Pavilion's
architecture
The participation of Holy See is aimed at creating an elliptical path of indicators distributed coherently in thematic areas through architectural displays, enhanced by multimedia systems which generate an immersive experience. The perspective dynamism opens a time portal that changes from different view angles, especially on the position of the elliptical focus where light and sounds interact.
Light is a very important aspect, as a transcendent reference of the idea of Life; as the element that generates chemical reactions and therefore movements of particles. Light is also a great symbolic reference for many cultures and religions in indicating a guide to follow.
The pavilion has a central entrance and is articulated around an elliptical central core. The central area will host a suspended canopy, an Elliptic Dome, presenting a reproduction of Michelangelo’s fresco painting “The Creation of Adam” from the “Sistine Chapel”. A surrounded rotating flow will guide the visitor’s experience in the most important thematic areas.
Holy see pavilion's
concept
The overall concept of the pavilion is to present the idea of fraternity, brotherhood and peace, while “deepening the connection” by sharing rich culture and history from the Vatican to the World. These ideas are represented through different exhibitions across the pavilion that starts from material elements representing unique artistic heritage of beauty to intangible elements as integrated communication.
A unique masterpiece, Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam”, is the nucleus of the journey where its possible to observe with closed eyes to the moment that before coming into contact, as the vital spark that passes from the Creator to the “forged creature”. This is the unique moment. It is observed through the central elliptical cell as stylization of the large eye. The blink of the eye, unique in each of us, is the moment of awakening, of ideation, of nature, of life, the source of light of the universe in the grandiosity and complexity of the system.
A vision of the uniqueness that reflects the identity of the Vatican is expressed in an experimental way with new intersection of art, culture, science and technology, creating new opportunities of communication and dialogue towards culture openings.
Pavilion Management
the general commissioner
his eminence cardinal gianfranco ravasi
deputy general commissioner
rev. msgr. tomasz trafny
pavilion director
Arch. giuseppe di nicola
Credits
The Commissioner General of the Holy See Pavilion
His Eminence Gianfranco Cardinal Ravasi
Deputy Commissioner General of the Holy See Pavilion
Monsignor Tomasz Trafny
express their gratitude to all who has collaborated in this project
Pontifical Council for Culture
His Excellency Bp. Paul Tighe – Secretary General
Msgr. Lech Piechota – Head of Office
Mrs. Caterina Sansone – Secretary Staff
Vatican Apostolic Library
His Eminence José Cardinal Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça
Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church
Msgr. Cesare Pasini
Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library
Dr. Delio Vania Proverbio – Scriptor Orientalis
Dr. Angela Nuñez Gaitan – Director of the Conservation Workshop
Mrs. Maria Adalgisa Ottaviani – Exhibitions Office
Dicastery for Communication
(Vatican Media, Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
Vatican Museums
Pontifical Swiss Guards
Sacro Convento in Assisi
The Conventual Franciscans and Volunteer
Science and Faith – STOQ Foundation
EWTN Poland
Fundacja Vide et Crede
Fundacja IT4Heaven
Piotr M. Pietrus
Grzegorz Szypa
Grzegorz Hul
Katarzyna Szypa-Nieszczesna
Jakub Piechnik
Architecture, Design & Construction
Arch. Giuseppe Di Nicola
Founder and CEO of DINICOLADESIGN
Fresco Painting Production
Epogea – Ferdinando Latour