FLASHES OF LIGHT

The celebration of the Jubilee of 2025 is a fitting occasion to be enchanted by the flashes of light emanating from some of the treasures of the Ambrosian Library. These are, above all, precious miniatures from some of the Library’s many volumes. They allow visitors to contemplate with their own eyes certain episodes from the life of Christ, just as artists imagined and interpreted them based on the passages of the Gospels.

There are three interpretative keys to viewing these masterpieces and being amazed by them.

First, each image refers to an episode narrated by the evangelists. The Bible has been called the great codeof Western culture because it has inspired art, music, and literature.

Furthermore, the artists set the Gospel scenes in their own context: the characters’ clothing is often that of their time, the houses are as they were in their time, and the professions are depicted as they were known to them. This allows them and those who look at those miniatures to feel part of those episodes recounted in the sacred pages, in other words to be contemporaries of Jesus.
The celebration of the Jubilee of 2025 is a fitting occasion to be enchanted by the flashes of light emanating from some of the treasures of the Ambrosian Library. These are, above all, precious miniatures from some of the Library’s many volumes. They allow visitors to contemplate episodes from the life of Christ, as artists imagined and interpreted them based on the passages of the Gospels.

Today, visitors gaze upon these masterpieces, filled with such beauty that they continually reflect the unique beauty from which they took shape.

The final section of the exhibition showcases several coins from the time of Christ, belonging to the numismatic collection of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
The coins on display here offer a dual itinerary, carefully delineated by the curator, Professor Giancarlo Alteri.
The first itinerary explores several coins used in Palestine during the time of Jesus. The coins are small and require careful attention to appreciate their workmanship and the details (the inscriptions, the effigies) that make them unique.
The second itinerary explores the connection between these coins and several passages from the Gospels. Jesus used these coins both in his daily life and to speak in parables. Reading several Gospel texts alongside the coins on display will allow visitors to better understand the meaning of those ancient words preserved in Sacred Scripture.