All the exhibitions not to be missed in Rome for the Jubilee 2025

In Rome this year there are truly many art exhibitions, cultural initiatives and new openings that visitors can participate in. In this article you will discover the most interesting ones that go well with an artistic pilgrimage, made of contemplation in the beauty of art, but also capable of making you discover the history of Christianity, but more generally of man when he meets art on his path.

The Jubilee 2025 is also an occasion for culture, as the name of the cultural event desired by the Vatican reminds us, "In the era of the overabundant siege of images for rapid and superficial consumption, we want to recover interiorization and offer events of grace" began the person responsible for the art events of the Jubilee, Don Alessio Geretti, in his opening speech; the Jubilee 2025 is therefore in the sign of grace and hope, these are the messages that you will encounter in the exhibitions that we have chosen for you.

In the splendid setting of the baroque church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Piazza Navona, the exhibition Icons of Hope. The path of faith in the Vatican Museums is set up, the fifth art and faith event of the “The Jubilee is culture” exhibition. On display are eighteen icons, recently restored, from Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia and Macedonia.

These are rare Byzantine icons, all united by a message of hope, therefore in line with the motto of the Jubilee 2025. The works on display depict characters and scenes from the life of Jesus, Mary and the Saints and were created over a rather broad chronological period from the 15th to the 20th century. Icons are a particular type of sacred art artefact deeply rooted in the history of Christianity and in the Byzantine tradition. The exhibition is free and open access and is displayed in the evocative Borromini sacristy inside the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, until February 16, 2025.

Until March 2, in the Sala Capitolare of the Palazzo della Minerva, home of the Library of the Senate of the Republic, the exhibition Saint Francis between Perugino and Cimabue. In the Jubilee with the Cantico of the Creatures, to celebrate the eighth centenary of the Cantico of the Creatures and the Saint more than any other embodies the Italian identity.

On display are two precious loans, the result of the collaboration between the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria with the Sacred Convent of Assisi and the Seraphic Province of Saint Francis: the Chartula, a parchment considered among the most important relics of the Saint, an autograph fragment of Saint Francis, datable to 1224, and the effigy of the Saint painted by Cimabue that comes from the Porziuncola Museum. The itinerary continues with works by the main painters of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, including Perugino. The main objective is to tell, in a synthetic but effective way, the development path of the iconography of Saint Francis of Assisi, between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The exhibition is open to the public and will remain on display until March 2, 2025.

A selection of great works from the Pinacoteca di Ancona is on display in the rooms on the ground floor of the Capitoline Museums, these are six prestigious canvases, all a religious nature, signed by some of the greatest Italian artists between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We find the Pala Gozzi, an absolute masterpiece by Tiziano Vecellio, the precious Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli, the Pala dell’Alabarda by Lorenzo Lotto and the imposing Immacolata by Guercino.

They are all large canvases, except for one, which temporarily enrich the collection of the Capitoline Museums until March 30. The exhibition has received the patronage of the Jubilee 2025. The works represent the best of the pictorial production of the Marche region from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century and is the start of a path of national valorization of the Ancona collection to finally make known the cross-section of a crucial period.

Until March 2nd in the Upper Armoury Halls of Castel Sant'Angelo, included in the entrance ticket, a journey through spirituality, art and culture to tell the story of the relationship between the Marche region and the eternal city. The Marche region has had a past inextricably linked to the Papal State and many Popes and Saints were born in this region, who with their influence have in some way influenced Italian ecclesiastical culture. Through this exhibition you will be able to discover the fascinating history that links the Marche region to Rome, the exhibition is divided into three sections.

The first focuses on the nine popes that Rome has had from the Marche region, among the various works on display there is also the tabernacle by El Greco linked to the figure of Pope Sixtus V. The second section is dedicated to the saints and blesseds, such as San Nicola da Tolentino and Santa Maria Goretti, these are told through paintings, engravings and objects of worship. The third section is perhaps the most fascinating, through maps, plans and ancient drawings it shows the sacred itineraries of the Marche, once stages of pilgrimages that can be taken as a starting point for new itineraries to be undertaken in the rich territory of the Marche to discover hermitages, oratories, sanctuaries, abbeys, churches and cathedrals that still today evoke great charm. 

It is impossible not to include in the list of all the exhibitions not to be missed in Rome for the Jubilee 2025 also a stop at the Vatican Museums to visit the papal collections and the Sistine Chapel. On the Jubilee 2025, taking inspiration from the Pelegrinantes in Spem movement, the Vatican Museums are offering a new type of guided tour for the entire Holy Year - Pilgrims of Hope - dedicated to the discovery of the testimonies, symbols and "multiple signs of hope" found in the masterpieces of the Pope's Museums.

The guided tours are available in various languages and open to individual visitors, families and children. The itineraries are inclusive and accessible also to people with disabilities. For families and children there are many interactive workshops included in the visit circuits, the educational itineraries concern various areas of the museums

We close our roundup of all the exhibitions not to be missed in Rome for the Jubilee 2025 with a gem, perhaps a little off topic compared to the sacred art that we have proposed up to this point, it is Picasso the foreigner, an exhibition dedicated to the great artist and set up at Palazzo Cipolla. This building together with Palazzo Sciarra inaugurated this year the birth of the Museum hub - Museo del Corso, located in the heart of Rome with the ambition of offering this year's visitors and pilgrims a new cultural reality.

The exhibition Picasso the Stranger will open its doors from February 27 and will remain open until June 29, the exhibition explores the artist's identity as an immigrant in France and how, despite his condition as a foreigner, Picasso managed to revolutionize twentieth-century art. If you plan to visit Rome this year, we suggest you organize yourself in advance and consider the Visit Rome Pass, the only card that will give you access to Rome's main attractions and includes unlimited use of public transportation.