Barbara Jatta

Barbara Jatta (born 1962) is an Italian art historian. On 20 December 2016 it was announced that she was appointed by Pope Francis as the director of the Vatican Museums, replacing Antonio Paolucci who has been the director since 2007. She officially took the position on 1 January 2017.

Jatta was born in Rome on 6 October 1962. Her grandmother was a painter, and both her mother and sister work in art restoration. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Jatta joked that she was born among the smells of solvents. She studied Literature at the University of Rome (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"), with her thesis, "The History of Drawing, Engraving and Graphics", being completed in 1986. She later went on to earn degrees in Archive Administration and Art History. In addition to her studies in Italy, she has also studied in England, Portugal, and the United States. Since 1994 she has taught at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University in Naples and in 1996 she joined and led the prints section of the Vatican Library. She became the vice-director of the Vatican Museums under Antonio Paolucci in June 2016.

In December 2016 it was announced that Jatta was selected to become the new Director of the Vatican Museums, which will make her the highest ranking female in the Vatican on 1 January 2017. There are higher positions but the role of bishops, cardinals and the Pope are reserved for male priests. She is responsible for artworks that includes the iconic ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican museums earns more than $300m with profits of $40m from visitors to their museums. In a talk given on 13 October 2016 Jatta stated appreciation for the work done by her predecessors, and noted that her chief concerns as Director will to be to eliminate the unsightly line that visitors must stand in as they await entry, to encourage visitors to enjoy the lesser known sections of the museum, to reduce crowding of the Sistine Chapel, and to utilize the "new media" to both publicize initiatives and educate visitors. All this must be done, she continued, while "paying special attention to the ‘Vatican tradition’."

Since 1988 Jatta has been married to Fabio Midulla, a medical educator, and they have three children.

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