News

An Interview with Paolo Violini, the New Head of the Restoration Laboratory for Paintings and Wooden Material at the Vatican Museums

Further Centuries of Artistic Splendor

The restoration of Raphael’s Loggia, the launch of the preliminary study program for the Sala dei Chiaroscuri, and, in the seventeenth-century sphere, a project to restore the entire Scala Regia—the monumental entrance to the Apostolic Palaces designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

These are some of the initiatives announced in this interview with Paolo Violini, who, as of August 1, is at the helm of Italy’s oldest most renowned restoration workshop: the Restoration Laboratory for Paintings and Wooden Material at the Vatican Museums. [www.vaticanstate.va](http://www.vaticanstate.va)

Joint Stamp Issue between the Vatican City State, the Italian Republic, the Republic of San Marino, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Postal Stamps Commemorating the Canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati

A portrait of Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925), painted by Alberto Falchetti (1878–1951) and owned by the Frassati family, along with a photograph of Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) wearing a red T-shirt and a backpack, taken on Mount Subasio near Assisi during one of his last school trips before his untimely death — these are the two images featured on the stamps dedicated to the canonization of the two Blessed, scheduled for the morning of Sunday, September 7, in St. Peter’s Square, presided over by Pope Leo XIV.

Agreement Signed Between the Holy See and Italy for the Construction of an Agrivoltaic Plant

A step forward has been taken toward the construction of an agrivoltaic plant in a vast area of land belonging to the Holy See on the outskirts of Rome, known as Santa Maria di Galeria. On Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 12:00 noon, an agreement between the Holy See and the Italian Republic was signed at Palazzo Borromeo, the headquarters of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See in Rome, as announced by a communiqué from the Holy See.

Interview with the new Director of the Vatican Observatory, Father Richard D’Souza, S.J.

Not only science but qualified research at the service of the Church

On Thursday morning, July 31, the liturgical memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, S.J. as new Director of the Vatican Observatory. Fr. D'Souza has been serving at the Observatory as an astronomer for many years and he will begin his new role as Director on September 19, 2025.