“Bellini and Sodoma – The Passion of Christ” is the theme of the exhibition inaugurated on April 5, 2025 in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. It is the Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Giovanni Bellini, from the Vatican Pinacoteca, and the Dead Christ Supported by Angels by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as Sodoma, on loan from the Venerable Archconfraternity of Santa Maria dell’Orto in Rome.

The initiative, promoted by the Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Villas, was curated by the museums’ Department of 15th and 16th Century Art and was organized to coincide with the liturgical seasons of Lent and Easter. The theme that links the two works is the Passion of Christ, in particular, the meditation on his lifeless body after dying on the Cross.

The work created by Bellini around 1475, which originally formed the cymatium for the altarpiece of the main altar of the church of San Francesco in Pesaro, is considered one of the great masterpieces of Italian Renaissance painting.

The scene represents the moment in which the body of Christ, before burial, is mourned and anointed with perfumed oils. Four characters are represented: Christ, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene, who supports one of Jesus' hands. The painting’s perspective is strongly foreshortened from the bottom to the top, which takes into account the height at which the panel must have been located. The central point of the representation is the intertwining of hands between Jesus and the Magdalene. Placed in the Vatican Pinacoteca since 1820, the work was recently subjected to restoration carried out in the laboratories of the Vatican Museums.

The Dead Christ Supported by Angels, painted by Sodoma around 1505, represents a reflection on the suffering and now lifeless body of Christ.

In honor of International Women's Day, the Apostolic Palace in collaboration with the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage and the Vatican Observatory offer all women special entrance with a reduced fee.

The initiative is valid for the entire weekend on the following days: 

• Friday 7 March 2025, from 9:00 to 14:30 (last entry at 13:00)
• Saturday 8 March 2025, from 9:00 to 17:30 (last entry at 16:00)
• Sunday 9 March 2025, from 10:00 to 18:30 (last entry at 17:00)

Visitors, together with their companions, will be able to explore – alone or with a guide or audio guide – the historic rooms of the Apostolic Palace, including the Historical Collections and the Pope's Apartment.

During the tour it will also be possible to visit the two current exhibitions:

• “Castel Gandolfo 1944”
• “The Stoning of Saint Stephen. A Raphael Tapestry for the Sistine Chapel”

In addition, this year the promotion also extends to a visit to the astronomical domes of the Vatican Observatory, located on the roof of the Apostolic Palace where you can visit ancient instruments and telescopes that are still perfectly functional. At the end of the visit, you can walk in the Giardino del Moro and the Giardino Segreto, and admire Lake Albano from the panoramic terrace of the new Caffetteria-Bistrot.