The Metropolitan museum of art guide: Works of art

The Vatican is a unique domain. The worlds smallest independent city state, it is the seat of the papacy—and thus the spiritual headquarters of one of the worlds great religions, Roman Catholicism—and at the same time it is among the largest and most distinguished complexes of architectural and artistic treasures in the West. To the ancient Romans, the Vaticanum was a swampy and ill-defined region along the bank of the Tiber. It was the site of the Vatican Circus—begun by Caligula and finished by Nero—and the place where the apostle Peter, the first bishop of Rome, was crucified and buried. Less than three centuries later, the Holy Roman emperor Constantine erected a monumental basilica over the site of Peters tomb, a church that stood for more than twelve hundred years until it was torn down, beginning in the 1500s, to make way for the magnificent Renaissance basilica that is today the focal point of Christendom. Message / Pope John Paul Ii -- Historical Note / John Daley -- The Government Of The Church / Alfons M. Stickler -- The Vatican City State / José M. Sánchez De Muniáin : The Instruments Of Social Communication / Virgilio Levi ; The Vatican Radio / Roberto Tucci ; The Press Office Of The Holy See / Federico Alessandrini -- Saint Peter's : The Tomb Of Peter And The Constantinian Basilica / José Ruysschaert ; New Saint Peter's / Ennio Francia ; The Wooden Cathedra / Michele Maccarrone -- The Apostolic Palace / Deoclecio Redig De Campos -- Other Buildings And The Vatican Gardens / Eva-maria Jung-inglessis -- The Vatican Museums : Introduction / Deoclecio Redig De Campos ; The Museo Pio-clementino ; The Museo Chiaramonti / Georg Daltrop ; The Museo Gregoriano Etrusco / Francesco Ronacalli ; The Museo Gregoriano Egizio / Gianfranco Nolli ; The Museo Gregoriano Profano / Georg Daltrop ; The Museo Pio Christiano / Enrico Josi ; The Museo Missionario Etnologico / Jozef Penkowski ; The Pinacoteca Vaticana / Maria Donati Barcellona ; The Museo Storico / Annunzio Gandolfi And Carlo De Vita ; The Collezione D'arte Religiosa Moderna / Mario Ferrazza And Patrizia Pignatti -- The Apostolic Vatican Library / José Ruysschaert -- The Vatican Secret Archive / Martino Giusti -- The Pilgrimage Basilicas : Introduction / John Daley ; San Giovanni In Laterano : San Paolo Fuori Le Mura ; Santa Maria Maggiore / Ennio Francia ; San Lorenzo Fuoir Le Mura ; Santa Croce In Gerusalemme ; San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura / John Daley -- The Catacombs / Umberto Fasola -- Palaces Of The Holy See In Rome -- The Lateran Palace ; The Cancelleria : The Palazzo Di Propaganda Fide / John Daley -- Plan Of Old Saint Peter's -- Map Of The Catacombs -- Saint Peter And His Successors. Publication Authorized By The Vatican And Published In Connection With The Exhibition 'the Vatican Collections: The Papacy And Art' Organized By The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York, The Art Institute Of Chicago, And The Fine Arts Museums Of San Francisco. Based In Part On The Vatican And Christian Rome, Published In 1975 By Libreria Editrice Vaticana--t.p. Verso. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 395-397.