Exhibition: Vestigia Vaticana
August 4-20, in Special Collections, Hesburgh Library
This exhibition was constituted for the conference, The Promise of the Vatican Library, held May 8–10, 2016 at the University of Notre Dame. The items displayed are drawn from the collections of the Hesburgh Library and include a variety of formats: manuscripts, incunabula, seals,maps, engravings, and modern printed books. Documents from the 13th through the 17th century show how Papal Bulls and Apostolic Briefs transformed with the Papal Chancery. The different ways books were presented to popes are seen in medieval manuscript and modern print. Maps and engravings illustrate locations and practices unseen by many, whether a papal conclave in 1700 or an ichnographic map modified through two centuries. In fact, many of the items were once owned, authenticated, commissioned, or even authored by various popes; others were dedicated to popes or are depictions of them, both veristic and idealized. Vestigia Vaticana (“Vatican Footprints”) focuses on the marks left by the Holy Father throughout time, space, genre, and medium.
The digital version of the exhibition is available online at: http://collections.library.nd.edu/2fb06059c8/vestigia-vaticana, and the physical version will be on display until August 20, 2016.