Rome's ancient Jewish community and top Catholics are uniting to host an exhibition centred around the historic symbol of the menorah - a seven-armed candle described in the Hebrew Bible.
The joint art exhibition, which will open in May, celebrates the iconic symbol revered in Jewish and Christian faith traditions, Crux reports.
The exhibition 'recounts the multi-millennia, incredible and suffered history of the menorah,' organisers said on Monday.
The announcement was made by the Vatican's Cardinal Kurt Koch, Rome's chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, and officials from the Vatican Museums and the Jewish Museum of Rome.
'This is an interesting initiative from a cultural point of view and its ideological symbolism,' Di Segni told RNS. 'Although the menorah is essentially considered a Jewish symbol, it also has a history in the Christian world.'
The interfaith show will explore the rich, complex history of the Menorah, which is not to be confused with the nine-armed candelabrum used by Jews at Hannukah. It will include a 2,000 year old stone block – bearing the symbol of the menorah – recently uncovered by archaeologists in an Israeli synagogue in the town of Magdala.
It will also explore the legend of the solid gold menorah featured in Jerusalem's Second Temple, but stripped from it after the Roman destruction of the temple in 70AD.
Most of the 130 artefacts will be displayed at the Vatican Museums' Carlo Magno exhibit space in St. Peter's Square.
Arnold Nesselrath, deputy director of the Vatican Museums said: 'We have some great works of art, including six or seven bronze candlesticks which also show the Christian tradition of the menorah.
'Many Christian churches simply pointed to their Jewish roots this way.'
Nesselrath said the joint effort, the first of its kind, could show the potential for positive religious cooperation as a counter to the 'conflict' often perceived.
'Fundamentalism is not inherent in religion,' he said. 'We want to do this exhibition to show we can do something positive together and there is a long history of 2,000 years of mutual reference.'
The exhibit will run from May 15 to July 23.
