EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS, WORLD TOURISM DAY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2003 (VIS) - This year on September 26-28 the Holy See will participate in the "European Heritage Days," an initiative promoted by the European Council which is made up of more than 40 countries. This year's theme is: "The Monastic heritage - symbiosis of spirituality and artistic creativity as a principle channel for the birth of the European identity."
On the occasion of these celebrations, a musical meditation, performed by the Benedictine monks from St. Anselm's Pontifical Athenaeum, is scheduled to take place in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday September 26 at 6 p.m.

On Saturday September 27, World Tourism Day will be celebrated. Its theme is: "Tourism: driving element in the fight against poverty for the creation of employment and social harmony." On this day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be guided visits to the archives of the Vatican Basilica which are normally closed to the public.

As part of World Tourism Day celebrations, on Sunday September 28, entrance to the Vatican Museums and the catacombs of Rome will be free. In addition, in the catacombs of St. Callistus a special didactic exhibition entitled "Monasticism and the Catacombs" will be inaugurated and will remain open until October 28. An exhibition in the Vatican Museums, "Monastic Cultural Heritage - From The Manuscripts of the Vatican Apostolic Library to the Christian Roots of Europe" will be unveiled and open to the public until November 8.

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