Porte della Speranza project is promoted by the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, in collaboration with the DAP (Department of Prison Administration), and is being implemented by the Jubilee Committee for Culture and Education, together with Rampello & Partners and with the support of the Cariplo Foundation.

Inspired by the opening of the Holy Door at Rome’s Rebibbia prison at the beginning of the Jubilee, the idea is to commission leading artists to create "Porte artistiche" ("Artistic doors") that foster dialogue with prison communities. 

«Opening a door — even when there is no wall — means recognising that no life is without a future», says Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. «With this project, we wish to affirm that hope is not a mere ornament, but a shared responsibility: a possibility that is renewed precisely in those places where it seems most fragile.»

In Italy, eight monumental doors will be designed for installation in front of eight Italian prisons: San Vittore in Milan, designed by Michele De Lucchi, which was inaugurated last December; the women’s wing of Borgo San Nicola in Lecce, designed by Fabio Novembre; Regina Coeli in Rome, designed by Gianni Dessì; Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice by Mario Martone; Pagliarelli in Palermo by Massimo Bottura; Canton Mombello in Brescia by Stefano Boeri; Secondigliano in Naples by Mimmo Paladino; and a prison currently being finalised in the city of Reggio Calabria by Ersilia Vaudo Scarpetta. 

The international nature of the project meant that Portugal was also involved, where two Porte della Speranza were inaugurated, at the Leira Penitentiary School and the Tires Penitentiary Institution respectively, thanks to collaboration with the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the Portuguese Republic – Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services, with the support of ZET – Gallery and Fundação Jornada.