Crossing the Threshold

Private Tours of the Vatican Museums

Varcare la Soglia (Crossing the Threshold) by Giuliano Vangi

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To celebrate the Jubilee of 2000 a new entrance was built to the Vatican Museums. In the grand entrance hall stands Varcare la Soglia (Crossing the Threshold) by Giuliano Vangi (b. 1931). 

This striking sculpture takes the form of a man breaking free from a block of marble. The block itself bears images of Pope John Paul II (r. 1978-2005), who officially opened the new entrance on February 7th, 2000. 

The title of Vangi's sculpture refers to both the physical threshold of the museum and the temporal threshold of the new millennium. 

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Crossing the Threshold

Crossing the Threshold (det.)