The Xunta de Galicia announced this Tuesday an agreement with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and the Custody of the Holy Land Society of Jerusalem. The plan is to host an exhibition in the City of Culture of Compostela from March to August 2024. It presents an artistic treasure never before seen in Spain, sourced from the Terra Sancta Museum. This series of works has not yet traveled extensively within Spain and has previously been shown only in Portugal and parts of Europe, including Versailles in 2011. In 2024, it will be shown in Spain for the first time in the capital of Galicia. A second venue is to be confirmed for the same period.
The Santiago presentation will feature precious items such as chalices, codices, crucifixes and fine liturgical textiles donated to Jerusalem by various European royal houses over the last five centuries. Visitors will enjoy free admission to the Gaiás museum mentioned above.
The display will be anchored at the Gaiás Center Museum and will operate under heightened security arrangements, according to sources in Cidade da Cultura who answered questions from EL CORREO GALLEGO of the Prensa Ibérica group.
This exhibition, centered on the Terra Sancta Museum treasures from Jerusalem, emphasizes the strong link between two major Christian pilgrimage centers. What is Compostela like today This material expands the current coverage about Portgal through items provided via email. Other pieces come from the Galicia capital, as well as the archives of the San Francisco monastery in Santiago, the Compostela monastery of Santa Clara, the Massó Museum in Bueu, and the Mondoñedo collection.
Antonio Pimentel, director of the Gulbenkian Museum, Román Rodríguez, Minister of Culture, and Stephane Milovich, Director of Cultural Heritage of the Custodian of the Holy Land, attended the press event. The opening narrative also featured Jesus Prieto.
António Filipe Pimentel, director of the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, noted that much of the exhibition remains open until February 26 with an entry fee of 10 euros. Franciscan Stéphane Milovich, Director of Cultural Heritage of the Custodian of the Holy Land, and Román Rodríguez, Minister of Culture, explained that the cooperation agreement will make this important artistic heritage accessible in Santiago. A Xunta representative described the exhibition as potentially one of the largest events of 2024.
Rodríguez framed the initiative as part of a government commitment to enrich the cultural calendar ahead of the Xacobeo Year celebrations in 2027. He emphasized that the festival represents emotional wealth for Galicia and significant economic value for Santiago and the wider region. The Sacred Way pilgrimage route is expected to set a new visitor record by year’s end, with data indicating more than 436,000 pilgrims as of last month.
In this presentation, a fragment from 1670 sits alongside a piece from 1756 that has been loaned for the display. The core of the exhibition, titled Royal Treasures and Masterpieces from the Holy Land Museum, was created from gifts given by various European Catholic monarchies. Figures such as Philip II, Louis XIV of France, Joao V of Portugal, Carlo VII of Naples, and Maria Theresa of Austria contributed to the collection.
Organizers describe the lineup as including chalices, codices, metalwork, and precious liturgical fabrics, including crucifixes and baldachins donated to Jerusalem by many European houses over the past five centuries, with notable emphasis on the House of Bourbon. The show will be based at the Gaiás Center Museum and will operate under special security conditions as confirmed by Cidade da Cultura sources when consulted by EL CORREO GALLEGO.
Representatives of the organizations behind the exhibition stood together after the press conference at Cidade da Cultura. Jesus Prieto attended alongside other key figures.
The exhibition chronicles the artistic treasure from the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem and underscores the important link between two great Christian pilgrimage centers, a connection reiterated during today’s press conference in Cidade da Cultura.