The Treasure of the Holy Land at Museo Marino Marin

"Our Museo Marino Marini is honoured to present to the public a treasure of inestimable artistic and spiritual value," underlines Carlo Ferdinando Carnacini, president of Fondazione Marini San Pancrazio. "This exhibition, housed in one of the oldest places in Florence, is a unique opportunity to admire masterpieces that tell the story of Christian devotion and to reflect on the deep link between art and faith. In addition, it represents an opportunity for our museum to continue to celebrate the legacy of Marino Marini, strengthening the deep bond between Florence and Jerusalem, symbols of faith and dialogue between cultures."

This extraordinary treasure, enriched by loans from Italian museums and private collections, depicts the complex interweaving of patronage and religious worship, guiding visitors on a fascinating journey through the centuries, the genius of artistic creation and the spirituality that have helped shape the cultural roots of the Christian West.

The collection of works, placed under the protection of the Custody of the Holy Land, constitutes a heritage of religious objects, jewels, ornaments and sacred vestments, codes and canopies that the Franciscans have preserved for over five hundred years, and that will return to Jerusalem for the establishment of the Terra Sancta Museum of Art and History, in the Monastery of Saint Saviour.

Fr. Stéphane Milovitch, Director of Cultural Heritage of the Custody and responsible of the Terra Sancta Museum project: "Talking about culture and art in times of war might seem out of place, but as Franciscans we deeply believe that culture can heal wounds when all other doors are closed. One of our greatest challenges as the Church, after meeting basic needs, will be to allow people who hate and misunderstand each other to go beyond politics and conflict, even if only for a few hours. This is our goal in creating the first Christian art museum in Jerusalem: to provide opportunities for meeting. The Church must be inventive and creative. We have no right to surrender."

The exhibition itinerary starts from the Rucellai Chapel, which includes the sacellum of the Holy Sepulchre, a marvel of the Florentine Renaissance conceived by Leon Battista Alberti as a replica of the Jerusalem Basilica. The exhibition opens with an evocative narration of the millenary history of the Holy Sepulchre of the Holy Land, enriched by documents and precious artifacts. The exhibition culminates with the precious collection of masterpieces donated by the sovereigns of Spain, France, Portugal and the Holy Roman Empire, followed by treasures from the great Italian powers such as Venice, Genoa, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Kingdom of Naples. The route winds through the splendours of the Medici Renaissance, the refined works of the Habsburg-Lorraine and reaches the modern period.

"This exhibition is an excursion into the history of the Holy Sepulchre: with a preliminary journey into the history of the Jerusalem Basilica, starting with the Rucellai Chapel, which evokes the construction of the Constantinian Basilica," explains Leyla Bezzi, executive curator of the exhibition, "and also tells of the concept of the beauty of the sacred that is intertwined with aesthetic, spiritual and cultural elements, manifesting itself through art that arouses wonder and reverence, elevating the human spirit and facilitating contact with the divine."

Particular attention is paid to the gifts from Florence and from Italy, also thanks to the precious restoration of some works, promoted by Museo Marino Marini in Florence. Among these, the Altar of the Medici stands out, which includes the Ornamentor donated by Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany and built by Domenico Portigiani, Giambologna and Pietro Francavilla between 1588 and 1590. The initiative of Museo Marino Marini has restored other treasures such as the Tabernacle of the Commissioner of the Holy Land and the Lampada (Lamp) commissioned by Ferdinand IV Grand Duke of Tuscany, the manuscript code Antiphonary 18, along with sacred vestments such as Pianeta di Alice di Toscana (the Planet of Alice of Tuscany) and the Paliotto (Frontal) of the Commissioneror of the Holy Land in Venice, and finally, the tapestry of the Uffizi Galleries entitled "Cosimo il Vecchio fa costruire un ospedale per i pellegrini a Gerusalemme" (Cosimo de Medici has a hospital built for pilgrims in Jerusalem).

The exhibition also aims to introduce visitors to the splendour of the Neapolitan gifts of the eighteenth century, such as the series of three unpublished paintings depicting the Ecstasy of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Joseph and the Child, by the painter Francesco De Mura (1696-1782), and which belong to the four paintings sent to Nazareth for the chapel built on the remains of the Virgin's house. These works, now carefully restored, have long been abandoned and erroneously attributed to an Andalusian artist related to Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Archival research related to the preparation of the exhibition catalogue has made it possible to trace the transport documents and accounting notes related to the commission of the three paintings, returning them to the public with the exact date on which they were made and with the name of the real author, opening up new interesting reflections on the stylistic evolution of De Mura and his school.

As noted by Fr. Francesco Patton o.f.m., custodian of the Holy Land, who visited the exhibition on the occasion of its inauguration: "Tuscany, linked to the Holy Land since the Crusades, still preserves today, in the stones brought by Pazzino de' Pazzi from the Holy Sepulchre, a precious legacy that inflames the Florentine Easter tradition of the 'Scoppio del Carro' (Explosion of the Cart). In this Holy Land afflicted by hatred and division, it is necessary to build bridges, propose new initiatives, open horizons. This exhibition highlights how the link between the Custody and Tuscany continues to generate stimulating cultural exchanges even today."