VATICAN CITY, FEB 7, 2000 (VIS) - This morning, the Pope inaugurated the new entrance to the Vatican Museums and thanked all those who have taken part in carrying out the work.
"It is truly possible to say," declared the Holy Father, "that, from a cultural point of view, the Museums constitute one of the most important doors of the Holy See, open to the world."
He went on: "Hence the value, not simply functional but also symbolic, of a 'wider,' in other words more welcoming, entrance, in order to express the Church's renewed desire to engage in dialogue with humanity through art and culture, placing at everyone's disposal the heritage entrusted to her by history."
The Holy Father indicated that the sculpture situated in the new entrance, the work of the sculptor Giuliano Vangi, "is an invitation to reflect on the petrine ministry, to which Providence has called me." He also congratulated the sculptor Cecco Bonanotte, "who created the portal of the new entrance" and added, "the theme of the creation ... invites the visitor to recognize with wonder - in the universe, in living creatures and, above all in the human being - the mystery of the creator Spirit."
The new entrance to the Vatican Museums was built principally to accommodate the ever-growing number of visitors, now over three million annually. On busy days, in fact, more than 20,000 people pass through the galleries, with lines often forming outside the old entrance (now the exit) for a distance of three to four city blocks, requiring a wait of up to one hour.
Costing 45 billion lire (about $25 million), the new structure covers an area of 4,600 square meters, though the total new surfaces constructed amount to 10,500 square meters. Work on the glass, steel, bronze and marble structure took just over three years: more than 100 people a day worked on the building for a total of 750,000 man hours.
Once visitors pass through the new double bronze doors, above which is Pope John Paul's coat-of-arms, also sculpted in bronze, they enter a spacious, high-ceilinged, luminous atrium, capable of holding 2,000 people. On this first level, there are ticket windows (for special groups, school groups, guided tours and pilgrimages), an exchange office, infirmary, and a kiosk for the sale of books and other objects. At a slightly lower level there are rest rooms and a coatcheck room.
The next level, reached by a marble staircase or by elevator, has ticket offices for the sale of individual tickets, and another coatcheck room. Several meters above this is a multi-purpose room with terraces which will be used for art exhibits. A 16 meter-long spiral ramp as well as an escalator provide access to the Courtyard of Armour and the Atrium of the Four Gates, where visitors start their actual visit to the museums. There are also 8 elevators.
The Courtyard of Armour is completely covered by a glass ceiling. Windows at one end offer a panoramic view of Rome and a staircase at the other end leads to the new restaurant area. Windows in the restaurant, which is double the size of the old cafeteria, overlook the Vatican gardens and the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Notwithstanding the fact that just over 3 years were required to build this new structure, the Vatican Museums never had to close during that entire time.
In the 16th century, Pope Julius II started the forerunner of what we call today the Vatican Museums. His collection of art was considered private and it was accessible only to the Pope's private guests and only through the papal apartments. Two centuries later, the ever-growing collection was no longer consider private but rather a public institution whose purpose was to safeguard the artistic patrimony. Nonetheless, only small groups of scholars and intellectuals were allowed to see the art.
For some years, entrance to the art collection was through the Bronze Door or the San Damaso courtyard, until Pope Pius VI (1775-99) created an independent entrance. The number of visitors was still limited as evidenced by the museum's 1857 rules and regulations: "The number of persons who will be allowed to study in the art gallery shall never exceed ten."
The 1929 Lateran Pacts, which established Vatican City State, recognized the art housed in the Vatican Museums as property of the Holy See, but stipulated that it must be visible to scholars and visitors. Three years later a new museum entrance into Vatican City was inaugurated. That is now the exit from the museums.
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