Pope Leo XIV inaugurated AQVA – Catastrophe and Wonder on Monday, 14 September. Visitors enter through Diluvium, a 70-metre-long installation by French street artist JR, the first site-specific work commissioned for the exterior of the 16th-century library.
Inside, art and rare books explore water as both a source of life and a force of destruction. Works by American typographer Bill Moran and Italian chef Fulvio Pierangelini are shown alongside Aquatilium animalium historiae, a 16th-century study of fish and aquatic animals by Italian naturalist Ippolito Salviani, published 470 years ago.
The exhibition also examines the damage water can cause to ancient manuscripts and the role it can play in their restoration.
AQVA launches the Vatican Library’s five-year Catastrophe and Wonder series, which will later turn to fire, light, insects and human intervention.
The exhibition opens on 25 September 2026 and runs until 14 May 2027, with public access on selected days.