Vatican Museums

The exhibition “More than a Thousand Words. Images from L’Osservatore Romano”, on display in Rooms XVII and XVIII of the Vatican Museums Pinacoteca, is dedicated to the daily newspaper that, founded on 1 July 1861, has for 165 years sought to fulfil the delicate mission of recounting the world, truthfully and with mercy, in the light of the Gospel.

The exhibition brings together and presents a selection of photographs, illustrations and drawings that, together with the written word, bear witness to the work carried out by the newspaper over recent years, particularly since 4 October 2020, when, following a major redesign, the decision was taken to give greater prominence to the power of images - starting with the front page. The first part of the exhibition is indeed dedicated to the images that occupy a good part of the initial pages of the newspaper. Chosen by a team of journalists led by Piero Di Domenicantonio and Gaetano Vallini, they are “powerful”, often dramatic photographs. But not all of them. There are some that tell stories of hope. And this is a radical choice by the newspaper, one that extends across all its pages, not just the front pages or those dealing with international geopolitics, to focus on telling stories of hope. Goodness is contagious, more so than evil. The second part of the exhibition, on the other hand, is dedicated to other images, works by cartoonists and illustrators, created to accompany some of the newspaper’s regular features.

“Undoubtedly, much of the credit for this shift”, explains Andrea Monda, Editor-in-Chief of L’Osservatore Romano, “is attributable to the pontificate of Pope Francis. Bergoglio’s language was already evocative, and he himself repeatedly expressed, both in public and in private, the idea that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. This shift was, in fact, accompanied along the way by the personal encouragement of the Argentine pontiff himself. The exhibition is therefore also a form of recognition, a gesture of gratitude first and foremost towards him, which extends to all the artists involved in this endeavour and, finally, to all visitors who, we hope, will be able to appreciate the work carried out throughout all these years by the daily newspaper of the Holy See”.

“Powerful images and images of hope”, adds Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, “our present is captured in the photographs that, every day, L’Osservatore Romano selects to describe the reality around us, to visualise the present and to imagine the future that awaits us. What better place than the Vatican Museums to speak of the power of images, of their ability to touch the heart, in ways that are worth more than a thousand words”.