Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums house an extensive range of art and artifacts encompassing various periods of history and cultures. Within this vast collection, the Ethnological Museum Anima Mundi holds a special place. Established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI after the successful Vatican Exposition, which presented over 100,000 works to the public, the Ethnological Museum was intended to be a permanent testament to the cultural, artistic, and spiritual traditions of all peoples. It currently contains over 80,000 objects, including artifacts from prehistoric times to modern gifts to the Pontiffs, showcasing the vast array of human creativity and religious expression from Asian spiritual traditions to pre-Columbian and Islamic civilizations, and including the works of African, Oceanian, Australian, and American indigenous peoples​​.

The Anima Mundi section of the Vatican Museums includes a permanent exhibition dedicated to Australia, launched in collaboration with the Aboriginal Studies Press. It features about 300 pieces, highlighting the indigenous culture of Australia, dating back to the first donations to Pope Pius XI. The collection aims to reconnect with the ancient culture of Australia’s indigenous peoples and is considered significant in showcasing the diverse and rich heritage of over 300 indigenous nations on the continent prior to British arrival in 1788. The initiative is part of a broader mission to value civilizations from around the world and communicate the importance of diverse cultures sharing one planet.