La Chiesa tra erudizione antiquaria e archeologia. La museografia del XVIII sec. fino al Museo Profano in Vaticano

This paper examines the development of museography in the eighteenth century, with a particular focus on the Vatican’s ‘Museo Profano’ and its place in the historical development of museums. It situates this institution within the broader transition from a historical and antiquarian approach to museography, represented by figures such as Francesco Bianchini and Scipione Maffei, to the more aesthetic and artistic orientation that characterised the later decades of the century under the influence of Winckelmann. The analysis highlights the importance of the Vatican collections in shaping the development of European museum culture. Bianchini’s contributions, particularly through his work on the Museo Ecclesiastico, demonstrate a deep interest in integrating historical documentation and antiquarianism into museum design. His efforts reflected the prevailing cultural emphasis on education and the scientific preservation of artefacts, rather than merely serving aristocratic self-representation. These developments underlined the shift towards a public-oriented approach to museums. The article also highlights how early museographic practices prioritised the historical and documentary value of collections, using inscriptions, artefacts and architectural elements to convey a coherent narrative of antiquity. This early approach laid the foundations for later, more structured museums, as seen in the Museo Profano and eventually the Museo Pio-Clementino. Moreover, the paper argues that this historical focus was a crucial precursor to the transformations of the Vatican’s collections in the 1770s, which incorporated the growing emphasis on aesthetics advocated by figures such as Winckelmann.