Curated by Vincenzo Zuppardo
Scientific Committee: Alessandro Coniglio, Siniša Srebrenović, Riccardo M. Bustos, Stéphane Milovitch, Narcyz S. Klimas, Vincenzo Zuppardo
Promoted by the Custody of the Holy Land and the Pro Terra Sancta Association

A hundred years after the construction of the Basilica of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and the Basilica of the Agony at Gethsemane, the exhibition Luxtenebra celebrates the archaeological, historical, artistic, and spiritual value of these important architectural works.

The construction of the two basilicas marked the beginning of architect Antonio Barluzzi’s fruitful service in the Holy Land, with the explicit intent of creating a tangible sign of collaboration and peace between nations that had fiercely fought in World War I. The Basilica on Mount Tabor is a suggestive reflection on the glory of Jesus’ Transfiguration. The architecture of the Church of All Nations at Gethsemane captures the dramatic intensity of Jesus’ agony before his crucifixion. Two opposing mysteries: the divine and the human. Life and death. Light and darkness.

The exhibition pathways testify to the universal dimension of these places and the commitment to peace and dialogue of the Custody in the Holy Land and Christians in the Holy Land.

With a concept reminiscent of churches using round arches, the exhibition, after an introduction, divides the path into two major sections, each dedicated to one of the two basilicas. Through textual descriptions and selected images, a narrative emerges of constructing sacred places of collaboration and hope for all.