Eleven works from the Vatican Apostolic Library are featured in the second Islamic Arts Biennale, held from January 25 to May 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They include ancient translations of the Quran, texts on astronomy, and a unique, almost six-meter-long, 17th-century map of the River Nile, restored for the occasion.
“To return to the origins of humanity, to rediscover the roots of history, and to heal the present from the wounds of hatred and division.” This is how Archbishop Angelo Zani, Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, described the Vatican Apostolic Library’s participation in the AlMadar section of the Islamic Arts Biennale, which runs from January 25 to May 25, 2025, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The theme of the exhibition, “And All That Is In Between,” is inspired by a phrase that appears approximately 35 times in the Qur’an. It refers to God’s creation of the heavens, the earth, and “all that is in between,” highlighting the absolute and all-encompassing majesty of creation.
Arts, faiths, and cultures in dialogue
The Biennale, structured into seven sections (AlBidaya, AlMadar, AlMuqtani, AlMathala, Makkah al-Mukarramah, Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, and AlMusalla), offers a unique opportunity to admire artifacts from Islamic holy sites such as Mecca and Medina, alongside pieces on loan from over thirty international institutions across twenty countries. The exhibition is set within the iconic Western Hajj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, through which millions of Muslim pilgrims pass annually.
In the AlMadar section, the Vatican Apostolic Library presents significant works in alignment with the goals of the event, organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. These goals include “promoting the diversity of artistic expressions that characterize Islamic arts globally and fostering understanding and collaboration among diverse cultures.”
Numbers and calculations
Spanning 110,000 square meters of exhibition space, the AlMadar section (“The Orbit”) explores the representation of numbers in collective history, touching on the origins of natural calculations, their applications in Islamic culture, mathematics, architecture, music, design, celestial and terrestrial mapping, ocean navigation, trade, and geometric patterns in Quranic decoration.
The Library of Humanity
“In 1451, Pope Nicholas V founded the Vatican Apostolic Library to make texts and volumes available to researchers and scholars. From its inception, it wasn’t designed solely as a theological Christian library but as a library of humanity,” Zani explains. “Rooted in humanism, our institution continues to embody these values. When we received the invitation to Saudi Arabia, we found ourselves in an interreligious and intercultural context. Our treasures are unique, and we must use them to build cultural diplomacy and dialogue, fostering conversations even between differing perspectives on what humanity has produced. Humanity’s roots are unified, not fragmented.”
The six-meter map of the River Nile
The Vatican Apostolic Library’s contribution to the Jeddah Biennale includes 11 works, marking the second edition of the event, which attracted over 600,000 visitors in 2023. Among the items, the highlight is a nearly 6-meter-long map of the Nile. It was displayed during a 2021 Vatican Library exhibit and is now leaving the Vatican walls for the first time. “This map, dating to the late 17th century, was acquired in 1739 in Constantinople by the Lebanese librarian, Giuseppe Alemanni, who later became the Vatican Library’s Pre
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