Five hundred years ago Michelangelo began work on a painting that became one of the most famous pieces of art in the world—the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Every year millions of people come to see Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, which is the largest fresco painting on earth in the holiest of Christianity's chapels; yet there is not one single Christian image in this vast, magnificent artwork. The Sistine Secrets tells the fascinating story of how Michelangelo embedded messages of brotherhood, tolerance, and freethinking in his painting to encourage "fellow travelers" to challenge the repressive Roman Catholic Church of his time. "Driven by the truths he had come to recognize during his years of study in private nontraditional schooling in Florence, truths rooted in his involvement with Judaic texts as well as Kabbalistic training that conflicted with approved Christian doctrine, Michelangelo needed to find a way to let viewers discern what he truly believed. He could not allow the Church to forever silence his soul. And what the Church would not permit him to communicate openly, he ingeniously found a way to convey to those diligent enough to learn his secret language."—from the Preface Blech and Doliner reveal what Michelangelo meant in the angelic representations that brilliantly mocked his papal patron, how he managed to sneak unorthodox heresies into his ostensibly pious portrayals, and how he was able to fulfill his lifelong ambition to bridge the wisdom of science with the strictures of faith. The Sistine Secrets unearths secrets that have remained hidden in plain sight for centuries.

The story behind the timeless Renaissance revealed.

Describes events leading up to the creation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, with information about the life of Michelangelo, as a man and an artist; and includes discussion of the controversial restoration project of the 1980s, with before and after photographs.

A deeply reported, New York Times bestselling exposé of the money and the clerics-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican—the world’s biggest, most powerful religious institution—from an acclaimed journalist with “exhaustive research techniques” (The New York Times). From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, God’s Bankers traces the political intrigue of the Catholic Church in “a meticulous work that cracks wide open the Vatican’s legendary, enabling secrecy” (Kirkus Reviews). Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this book is about the church’s accumulation of wealth and its byzantine financial entanglements across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in one of the world’s most influential organizations. God’s Bankers has it all: a revelatory and astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, and mysterious deaths written off as suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church’s aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger tensions of more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican’s Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. “As exciting as a mystery thriller” (Providence Journal), this book reveals with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.

Written by a Vatican insider and accomplished church historian, this book is a unique behind-the-scenes look at the world's smallest nation and the spiritual center of the Catholic Church. Produced with the full cooperation of the Vatican, this is a beautifully illustrated insiders guide into the 2,000-year-long history of the Vatican and papal influence, daily life and governance of the world's largest religious body, and the art collections and other priceless treasures rarely seen by the public. In addition to a unique photographic tour, the book includes personal interviews with various Vatican employees and insiders who make their home there, from a Swiss Guard to a singer in the Sistine Chapel choir. This book is an unparalleled look into life inside the Holy City.

A unique visual guide to life inside the spiritual centre of the Catholic Church, updated to include Pope Francis The Vatican explores Vatican City, the world's smallest sovereign state and the spiritual heart of one of the world's great religions with worldwide influence. Through the inside knowledge of Father Michael Collins, gain a privileged insight into the 2,000 year history, traditional ceremonies, priceless treasures and spectacular architecture of the Vatican. Find fascinating accounts of the day-to-day running of the state, illustrated by the stories of those who live or work in this extraordinary city within a city; from a priest and a chorister to a gardener. With specially commissioned photographs covering every aspect of life at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, The Vatican will take you right inside this extraordinary world.

Arranged chronologically and thematically, Dark Mysteries of the Vatican sifts fact from fiction and illuminates the truth of what lies in the archives. From murder in Holy Orders to financial scandal and UFOs, this is the definitive volume on the most secretive place on earth. Most books about the Vatican are dense and scholarly, but Jeffers delivers an easy-to-read, fact-driven investigation, covering historical as well as current events.