What do you think?
Rate this book
The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City
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.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2008
4 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Michael Collins
532 books52 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)Irish Novelist
Michael Collins was born in 1964. He was educated in Belfast, Dublin and Chicago. His short stories have been awarded the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Award in Ireland and the Pushcart Prize in America.
(1)Irish Novelist
Michael Collins was born in 1964. He was educated in Belfast, Dublin and Chicago. His short stories have been awarded the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Award in Ireland and the Pushcart Prize in America.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 31, 2013
This is an old review from my blog that I thought I had posted here. Evidently not, but now that is taken care of!
A few weeks ago I received an elaborate mailing piece for this book. I looked through it longingly and then resolutely threw the pieces in the trash. I had no business purchasing a book right now, even if it was a DK Publishing book ... those grown-up picture books that I love so much.
You can easily imagine my delight then when I received an email offering a review copy the next week.
What you may not be able to so easily imagine is just how beautiful this book is. In fact, I took it to my Scripture Study class the night I received it and was afraid I wouldn't get it back. Person after person paged through, lingering over the beautiful photography of the gardens, treasures, and buildings. Each of them asked the price ($35) and then would say, "That's all? But it's such a big book with so much in it..."
Actually, upon checking, I found that DK offers it for a nice discount and Amazon for an even steeper one.
So now that all those preliminaries are out of the way, just what is in this book?
The author is a historian and former Vatican employee who clearly knows his way around the ins and outs of Vatican City. He also knows the Vatican officials well enough to have gotten full cooperation and to be able to display some things that the regular visitor would never see.
Divided into six sections that cover the Church year, history, architecture, daily life, people and treasures, the book goes into much more depth than one would expect. True, many of the 320 pages feature the stunning photography that is DK's trademark. However, the history section has a succinct yet thorough overview of popes and their accomplishments than I expected. In fact, it is nice to see one that handles the basics so well without getting bogged down in the details. Admittedly I tend to read some very indepth books.
I think that my favorite section features people and their jobs. We see at work those famous Swiss Guards (and their training), the ceremonies assistant, the mosaic restorer, the papal photographer, and even what extensive practice that one must have to sing in the choir. All these have multiple photos and captions that put us in place with them.
However, I also enjoyed the architecture section more than I thought I would. Let's face it. It is unlikely that I will ever go to Rome, much less the Vatican. This book puts me there where so much that is integral to the Catholic faith takes place and has taken place for hundreds and hundreds of years.
This is well worth the price and would make a wonderful gift. In fact, my sister did give it to me, whereupon I promptly donated my review copy to our parish library.
Highly recommended.
To see more inside spreads, visit DK.com
A few weeks ago I received an elaborate mailing piece for this book. I looked through it longingly and then resolutely threw the pieces in the trash. I had no business purchasing a book right now, even if it was a DK Publishing book ... those grown-up picture books that I love so much.
You can easily imagine my delight then when I received an email offering a review copy the next week.
What you may not be able to so easily imagine is just how beautiful this book is. In fact, I took it to my Scripture Study class the night I received it and was afraid I wouldn't get it back. Person after person paged through, lingering over the beautiful photography of the gardens, treasures, and buildings. Each of them asked the price ($35) and then would say, "That's all? But it's such a big book with so much in it..."
Actually, upon checking, I found that DK offers it for a nice discount and Amazon for an even steeper one.
So now that all those preliminaries are out of the way, just what is in this book?
The author is a historian and former Vatican employee who clearly knows his way around the ins and outs of Vatican City. He also knows the Vatican officials well enough to have gotten full cooperation and to be able to display some things that the regular visitor would never see.
Divided into six sections that cover the Church year, history, architecture, daily life, people and treasures, the book goes into much more depth than one would expect. True, many of the 320 pages feature the stunning photography that is DK's trademark. However, the history section has a succinct yet thorough overview of popes and their accomplishments than I expected. In fact, it is nice to see one that handles the basics so well without getting bogged down in the details. Admittedly I tend to read some very indepth books.
I think that my favorite section features people and their jobs. We see at work those famous Swiss Guards (and their training), the ceremonies assistant, the mosaic restorer, the papal photographer, and even what extensive practice that one must have to sing in the choir. All these have multiple photos and captions that put us in place with them.
However, I also enjoyed the architecture section more than I thought I would. Let's face it. It is unlikely that I will ever go to Rome, much less the Vatican. This book puts me there where so much that is integral to the Catholic faith takes place and has taken place for hundreds and hundreds of years.
This is well worth the price and would make a wonderful gift. In fact, my sister did give it to me, whereupon I promptly donated my review copy to our parish library.
Highly recommended.
To see more inside spreads, visit DK.com
July 17, 2010
One of the best photo journeys I have ever been on. There was so much I thought I knew about the Vatican, and then after reading this book, I learned so much more.
I was unprepared for the valuable content in the book.
If you've not been to Italy, and seen the Vatican for yourself, or haven't the money, passport, etc to travel, this is the best book you can get to take you there. From floor plans, to history of the Papal, to the treasures, this book has it all!
A fabulous book indeed!
I was unprepared for the valuable content in the book.
If you've not been to Italy, and seen the Vatican for yourself, or haven't the money, passport, etc to travel, this is the best book you can get to take you there. From floor plans, to history of the Papal, to the treasures, this book has it all!
A fabulous book indeed!
February 12, 2009
I'm learning a lot about how each of the early popes added spheres of power and influence to the position and the church. It's very informative and beautifully illustrated.
January 3, 2019
A great inside look of Vatican City with amazing pictures. Would be a great read for anyone looking to visit.
March 20, 2025
A colossal study of all aspects of The Vatican by Father Michael Collins. It covers a history of The Popes, the architecture, the treasures, and the people who work in the Vatican.
May 5, 2016
This book is a triumph for Dorling Kindersley – a comprehensive, intelligent overview of the Vatican which is also accessible and digestible, and which gives proper attention to the buildings, the art and treasures, and life of the institution. It is difficult to avoid resorting to the most obvious adjective: "lavish."
A historical essay at the start of the book gives the basic chronological framework and context; the following section covers the architecture and art at St Peter's and behind the walls of the Vatican City. The tour includes the well-known grandiose spaces of Papal grandeur and artistic patronage, but also the gardens, the Casina (summerhouse) of Pius IV and adjoining Aula Magna (home of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences), and the intimate sacred space of the church Santa Stefano (apparently occupied by Ethiopians in the fifteenth century, hence the name "degli Abissini"). Functional areas are also acknowledged, such as the Vatican pharmacy and a shop at the old train terminal (the train line is today used to bring in freight).
Beyond the walls, the book takes in St John Lateran, the Castel Sant’Angelo (connected to the Vatican by the Passeto di Borgo) and the Palazzo dei Papi in Viterbo.
A section on "People" presents short case studies of some of the clerics and laypersons who work at the Vatican: firstly, Pope Benedict XVI, followed by a Papal Diplomat (Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches), and then the Treasury Curator, the Master of Liturgical Celebrations, a choirboy, a Sister of Charity (who works at the Vatican’s hostel for the homeless, Dono di Maria), a seminarian, three restoration experts (the Head of the Floreria, in charge of furnishings, and the mosaic and painting restorers), a Papal Photographer (Rodolfo Felici, a descendent of the first Papal Photographer, Guiseppe Felici), and a Swiss Guard.
The final part of the book surveys some Papal bling and liturgical vessels, for the most part from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These include Papal tiaras, now (perhaps wisely) retired from use, and curiosities such as ceremonial shoes belonging to Pius V and Pius VI. A few items that particularly caught my eye were a ring given to Pius IX by Queen Victoria, a staff sculpted for Paul VI by Lello Scorzelli, a modest table cross kept by Pius VII while in captivity in France, and a table cross given to Pope John Paul II by Demetrius I in 1987, in suitably Greek silvery-white and blue colours.
If there is one criticism, it is that there is a certain PR blandness in some of the presentation. We don't expect a book of this sort to dwell on tragedies and controversies, but some acknowledgment of criticisms of and tensions within the modern Vatican would have given a more complete picture.
A historical essay at the start of the book gives the basic chronological framework and context; the following section covers the architecture and art at St Peter's and behind the walls of the Vatican City. The tour includes the well-known grandiose spaces of Papal grandeur and artistic patronage, but also the gardens, the Casina (summerhouse) of Pius IV and adjoining Aula Magna (home of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences), and the intimate sacred space of the church Santa Stefano (apparently occupied by Ethiopians in the fifteenth century, hence the name "degli Abissini"). Functional areas are also acknowledged, such as the Vatican pharmacy and a shop at the old train terminal (the train line is today used to bring in freight).
Beyond the walls, the book takes in St John Lateran, the Castel Sant’Angelo (connected to the Vatican by the Passeto di Borgo) and the Palazzo dei Papi in Viterbo.
A section on "People" presents short case studies of some of the clerics and laypersons who work at the Vatican: firstly, Pope Benedict XVI, followed by a Papal Diplomat (Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches), and then the Treasury Curator, the Master of Liturgical Celebrations, a choirboy, a Sister of Charity (who works at the Vatican’s hostel for the homeless, Dono di Maria), a seminarian, three restoration experts (the Head of the Floreria, in charge of furnishings, and the mosaic and painting restorers), a Papal Photographer (Rodolfo Felici, a descendent of the first Papal Photographer, Guiseppe Felici), and a Swiss Guard.
The final part of the book surveys some Papal bling and liturgical vessels, for the most part from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These include Papal tiaras, now (perhaps wisely) retired from use, and curiosities such as ceremonial shoes belonging to Pius V and Pius VI. A few items that particularly caught my eye were a ring given to Pius IX by Queen Victoria, a staff sculpted for Paul VI by Lello Scorzelli, a modest table cross kept by Pius VII while in captivity in France, and a table cross given to Pope John Paul II by Demetrius I in 1987, in suitably Greek silvery-white and blue colours.
If there is one criticism, it is that there is a certain PR blandness in some of the presentation. We don't expect a book of this sort to dwell on tragedies and controversies, but some acknowledgment of criticisms of and tensions within the modern Vatican would have given a more complete picture.
January 28, 2009
Written by a priest so all the bios on the popes were possitive. The Inquisition was refered to as "a time of great conversion". HA! But I really got it for the artwork. I would love to stand beneath Michelango's magnificent ceiling, but what I truly wish to see in my life is his sculpture "La Pieta" his finest piece by far.
May 17, 2013
Informative with wonderful photographs throughout. Particularly enjoyed the section about the lives of the Swiss Guards.
August 13, 2013
Such breathtaking art!
May 27, 2014
Read & finished this book today. Wonderful & Informative with photographs.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews