Vatican 2018 2€ Cultural Heritage

Cultural heritage has a universal value for us as individuals, communities  and societies. It is important to preserve and pass on to future  generations. For this reason the European Year of Cultural Heritage  2018 has been instituted with the slogan: “Our heritage: where the past  meets the future”. The aim is to encourage more people to discover  and engage with Europe’s cultural heritage, and to reinforce a sense of  belonging to a common European space. Vatican City State is dedicating  a 2 euro commemorative coin to the European Year of Cultural Heritage.  The coin features a reproduction of the Laocoön statue group,  one of the principal masterpieces found at the Vatican Museums. Discovered  on 14 January 1506 in a vineyard on the Oppian Hill in Rome,  it was acquired by Pope Julius II who had it moved to the Vatican. In  the years that followed, the “Court of Statues” - today the “Octagonal  Court” - became home to the first core group of prominent antique  classical sculptures that would profoundly influence artistic culture in  later centuries. Its placement is considered the founding moment of the  creation of what would become one of the most important museums  in the world.