Masterpieces of the History of the Veneration of St. Casimir: Lithuania – Italy
The Church Heritage Museum of the Vilnius Archdiocese is holding a unique exhibition. For the first time in the history of Lithuania, the most valuable St. Casimir-themed works from the largest museums of Florence and Palermo are presented. Reliquaries, paintings and documents, vivid testimonies of the tradition of devotion to St. Casimir, are masterpieces of art. The exhibition introduces a very important stage in the history of Lithuania, shows the spread of the cult of the patron saint of Lithuania, and reveals religious and political exchange and relations with Catholic institutions in Europe.
In the exhibition, the masterpieces of the history of the veneration of St. Casimir are presented with a focus on the seventeenth-century celebrations in Palermo and the devotion to St. Casimir of the Florentine Medicis. The gem of the exhibition is a famous sacred object from the treasuries of Florence – a seventeenth-century gilded silver reliquary of St. Casimir. The iconography of this work, the lavishness of materials and the mastery of the goldsmith Massimiliano Soldani Benzi has been a source of amazement for several generations of Italians, and today it is presented in Lithuania for the first time. The document confirming the authenticity of the relic from Bishop Mikołaj Stefan Pac, held in the Archives of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, and a golden chalice of the Bishop of Vilnius from the Treasury of Vilnius Cathedral is also displayed. A diamond-spangled treasure containing a relic of St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi from Vilnius Cathedral, sent by Cosimo III Medici in return for a relic of St. Casimir, is also part of this history. In this way, the history of the exchange of relics is shown and other monuments that have reached our times are discussed.
The exhibition boasts an exquisite painting representing the festivities of St. Casimir, the patron saint of Palermo, The Coronation of St. Casimir by Pietro Novelli (1636), which today is held in Abatellis Palace Gallery in Palermo (Galleria regionale della Sicilia di Palazzo Abatellis). Among the exhibits are a description of these festivities Il trionfo di San Casimiro (Library of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore) and an image of St. Casimir from Fondazione Culturale Mandralisca in Cefalú.
The exhibition is integrated into the structure of the permanent exhibition of the Church Heritage Museum, which allows expanding the view of the history of St. Casimir’s veneration and supplementing it with signs of devotion to St. Casimir created in this country, e.g., the image of St. Casimir Among Angels (Lithuanian Art Museum) depicting the great festivities of Vilnius in 1604.
The festivities of the patron saint of Lithuania, iconography and texts about him reveal how he was regarded in a concrete period, what was expected from him, and what place he occupied in the life and devotion of believers. Baroque spirituality left deep imprints in the history and iconography of the veneration of the holy prince. Seventeenth-century works dedicated to St. Casimir show the great generosity and fine artistic taste of their patrons.
The exhibition organizers are very grateful to the ambassadors of Lithuania to Italy Jolanta Balčiūnienė and Ričardas Šlepavičius, the ambassador of Italy to Lithuania Stefano Taliani de Marchio, the honorary consuls of Lithuania Enrico Palasciano and Alessandro Palmigiano, the head of the Medici Chapels Museum and the Complex of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Florence, dr. Monica Bietti, the head of the gallery of Palazzo Abatellis in Sicily, dr. Evelina De Castro, the dean of the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Florence, Monsignor Marco Domenico Viola, and the head of the Archives of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, dr. Sonia Puccetti, the head of the Mandralisca Foundation in Cefalu, prof. Antonio Purpura, and the cultural attaché of Lithuania to Italy, dr. Julija Reklaitė, the historian dr. Liudas Jovaiša for their help and cooperation.
Curator: Sigita Maslauskaitė-Mažylienė
Under the high patronage of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, the Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius Gintaras Grušas
Partner: Archdiocese of Vilnius
Mecenate: „Vakarų medienos grupė“
Supported by: Lithuanian Council for Culture, The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius City Municipality, UAB „MG Baltic“, UAB „Baltisches Haus“, „Domus Maria“, „Lietuvos draudimas“, „RAE LT“
Media sponsors: LRT, „Clear Channel“, bernardinai.lt
The works in the exhibition are courtesy of Museo nazionale del Bargello, Museo delle Cappelle Medicee, Firenze; Archivio della basilica di San Lorenzo, Firenze; Galleria Regionale della Sicilia di Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo; Fondazione culturale Mandralisca, Cefalù; Lithuanian Art Museum, Vilnius; National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius; Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, Vilnius; The Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius; Vilnius University Library
Information about St Casimir and the history of his veneration
Patron Saint of Lithuania, Saint Casimir
Earliest images
St Casimir's Church and St Casimir's Chapel in Vilnius Cathedral
The Treasury of Vilnius Cathedral and the Veneration of St Casimir
The Life and Death of St Casimir
The Spread of the Veneration of St Casimir Beyond the Borders of Lithuania
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