No Man Is An Island
A project dedicated to the themes of migration, journey, and hospitality
is the focus of the second event of Conciliazione 5,
the contemporary art space on Via della Conciliazione,
just steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica,
launched by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See
on the occasion of the Jubilee,
curated by Cristiana Perrella for 2025.
is the focus of the second event of Conciliazione 5,
the contemporary art space on Via della Conciliazione,
just steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica,
launched by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See
on the occasion of the Jubilee,
curated by Cristiana Perrella for 2025.
Adrian Paci’s work at Conciliazione 5 will be in dialogue
with another intervention by the artist
in the Corsie Sistine of the
Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia – ASL Roma 1
with another intervention by the artist
in the Corsie Sistine of the
Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia – ASL Roma 1
June 11 – September 21, 2025
Reviewed by Beatrice
11. June 2025
No man is an island,
entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend’s
or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
— John Donne
entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend’s
or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
— John Donne
With No Man is an Island, Adrian Paci’s (Shkodër, 1969) solo exhibition opens on Wednesday, June 11, marking the second event of Conciliazione 5, the contemporary art program promoted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Vatican. Conceived for the 2025 Jubilee, the project is curated by Cristiana Perrella for its first year.
The 2025 program of Conciliazione 5 invites reflection on the theme of Hope, articulated through four artist interventions throughout the year, each addressing pressing and socially significant issues: incarceration, migration, the environment, and poverty. Each featured artist creates work both for the Via della Conciliazione space—a window gallery visible 24/7—and for a different nearby city location connected to the topic at hand, thus creating a widespread art project that extends beyond the borders of Vatican City.
Following Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming (Shanghai, 1960), who focused on the prison system in collaboration with the Regina Coeli penitentiary community, Adrian Paci turns his attention to the transformative power of travel and its capacity to generate evocative imagery.
At Conciliazione 5, always visible along Via della Conciliazione, Paci presents the sculpture Home to Go (2001): a male figure, cast from the artist’s own body, carries an inverted roof on his back, its form reminiscent of wings. The sculpture evokes a humanity suspended between fragility and transcendence, centering on the image of the human as a wanderer, and the idea of the dramatic and forced journeys of those compelled to leave their homeland.
With references to Christian iconography of the Passion—frequent in the artist’s work, as in Cappella Pasolini (2005) and Via Crucis (2011) for the Church of San Bartolomeo in Milan—Home to Go enters into dialogue with the sacredness of its setting, situated along the path to St. Peter’s and the Holy Door, and with the heritage of classical art, which has shaped the artist since his early education.
With references to Christian iconography of the Passion—frequent in the artist’s work, as in Cappella Pasolini (2005) and Via Crucis (2011) for the Church of San Bartolomeo in Milan—Home to Go enters into dialogue with the sacredness of its setting, situated along the path to St. Peter’s and the Holy Door, and with the heritage of classical art, which has shaped the artist since his early education.
In close connection with this piece is The bell tolls upon the waves (2024), a video installation staged by the artist in the historic Corsie Sistine of the Monumental Complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia—an ancient site of care and hospitality dating back to 727 AD, when Saxon King Ina founded the Schola Saxonum for pilgrims on their way to the Tomb of St. Peter.
Produced by the Giorgio Pace Foundation and exhibited for the first time in Italy, the work is inspired by a true event: in 1566 in Termoli, during a Turkish raid, looters attempted to steal the bell of Saint Catherine, which had served to warn sailors of impending danger. Their attempt failed when the bell, loaded onto their ship, sank it.
Recalling this story, Paci designed a bell to be placed on a floating platform in the sea off the coast of Termoli, as though the original bell had resurfaced. The entire operation is documented in a powerful video, where the bell’s chimes are generated by the motion of the waves—sometimes gentle, sometimes violent. The bell tolls upon the waves is rich in symbolism, evoking both loss and the enduring presence of memory, its resonance amplified by the historically charged setting.
The juxtaposition of a well-known early work—among those that first brought Paci recognition—and a new production underscores the artist’s enduring engagement with these themes, offering a narrative that weaves together personal memory, spirituality, and an acute awareness of the major issues of our time.
Produced by the Giorgio Pace Foundation and exhibited for the first time in Italy, the work is inspired by a true event: in 1566 in Termoli, during a Turkish raid, looters attempted to steal the bell of Saint Catherine, which had served to warn sailors of impending danger. Their attempt failed when the bell, loaded onto their ship, sank it.
Recalling this story, Paci designed a bell to be placed on a floating platform in the sea off the coast of Termoli, as though the original bell had resurfaced. The entire operation is documented in a powerful video, where the bell’s chimes are generated by the motion of the waves—sometimes gentle, sometimes violent. The bell tolls upon the waves is rich in symbolism, evoking both loss and the enduring presence of memory, its resonance amplified by the historically charged setting.
The juxtaposition of a well-known early work—among those that first brought Paci recognition—and a new production underscores the artist’s enduring engagement with these themes, offering a narrative that weaves together personal memory, spirituality, and an acute awareness of the major issues of our time.
For Adrian Paci, “Humanity arrives in all its imminent presence to access transcendence.”
“I don’t work on the theme of immigration,” he states,
“but rather on encounters, on images, on elements, experiences, gifts…
I love the small, the peripheral—what sparks something in me.
I contemplate it even when the work is finished, because it is never truly finished, like living beings.
The work exists in the eyes of the viewer; artworks need to prolong their life through the gaze of others.”
“but rather on encounters, on images, on elements, experiences, gifts…
I love the small, the peripheral—what sparks something in me.
I contemplate it even when the work is finished, because it is never truly finished, like living beings.
The work exists in the eyes of the viewer; artworks need to prolong their life through the gaze of others.”
The exhibition title—No Man is an Island—is a quote from English poet John Donne (London, 1572–1631), taken from Meditation XVII (Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, 1624), which famously reads:
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main (...) any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
A call to recognize our shared humanity and mutual responsibility—foundational values of the Jubilee and of the entire Conciliazione 5 program, envisioned—per the wishes of Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery—as a space open to spirituality, critical thought, and the transformative power of art.
The program will continue in the fall with commissions to two other international artists, who will carry forward the exploration of the major issues of our time through art.
FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS
CONCILIAZIONE 5
Lara Facco P&C
Via della Moscova 18 – 20121 Milan
T. +39 02 36565133 | E. [email protected] | www.larafacco.com
Lara Facco | M. +39 3492529989 | E. [email protected]
Marianita Santarossa | M. +39 3334224032 | E. [email protected]
Camilla Capponi | M. +39 3663947098 | E. [email protected]
Via della Moscova 18 – 20121 Milan
T. +39 02 36565133 | E. [email protected] | www.larafacco.com
Lara Facco | M. +39 3492529989 | E. [email protected]
Marianita Santarossa | M. +39 3334224032 | E. [email protected]
Camilla Capponi | M. +39 3663947098 | E. [email protected]
Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See
