Vatican: A Private Visit to a Secret World

Preview: Vatican: A Private Visit to a Secret World

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About the Work

The Vatican is more than just a neighborhood in Rome, it is a complex city-state that has always fascinated and captivated people with its nearly two-thousand-year history, spirituality, scandals, and mysteries. The Vatican has inspired various artistic creations, including Fellini’s Roma, Coppola’s The Godfather: Part III, and Sorrentino’s The New Pope. But what is the true story behind the Vatican?

With almost three hundred popes and antipopes, saints, and sinners, the Vatican is like Noah’s Ark, containing animals of all kinds. From the Church’s earliest beginnings under Emperor Constantine, to the Renaissance popes who cultivated the arts, to today's pontiffs who navigate social and political issues, the Vatican has survived historical upheavals and religious schisms, and carved out a significant place for itself on the diplomatic stage.

Featuring archival images and striking photography, this Assouline Ultimate Collection volume, handcrafted with insightful texts by renowned journalist Caroline Pigozzi, a Vatican history specialist, and historian Giovanni Maria Vian, former editor-in-chief of L’Osservatore Romano newspaper, takes readers on a journey through the Vatican’s labyrinthine corridors, revealing hidden stories.

About the Author

Caroline Pigozzi is an award-winning Franco-Italian writer and journalist, who has worked as a major reporter for Paris Match and specializes in Vatican history. She studied at the New York University School of Journalism and has received numerous awards for her work, including the Prix de la Fondation Mumm for the written press and a médaille de vermeil from the Académie Française. Pigozzi has authored several best-selling books on the Vatican, including Le Pape en Privé, Jacques et Bernadette en privé, and Les Photos secrètes du Vatican, which have been translated into multiple languages.

Giovanni Maria Vian is a full professor of Patristic Philology at La Sapienza University in Rome and a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. He served as editor in chief of the Holy See’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, from 2007 to 2018. Vian is a respected scholar, historian, and journalist who has contributed many articles and essays on Christian history and the contemporary papacy to numerous publications. He has also edited texts of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) and Pope Francis. Vian's recent books include Pablo VI, un cristiano del siglo XX, Andare per la Roma dei papi, I libri di Dio: Breve storia dei testi cristiani, and Il papa senza corona: Vita e morte di Giovanni Paolo I.

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Number of pages: 242
Number of illustrations: 200
Language: English
Released in: December 2022
Size: W 39.8 x L 47.5 x H 8 cm
Weight: 9.7 kg
Further features: Handcrafted volume in a velvet clamshell case with metal plate tip-on
ISBN: 9781649800404