Reflections on Beauty

Borromini's reconstruction

The basilicas built on the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul were completely rebuilt at specific moments in history. How, then, should we interpret the current appearance of Rome's cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran? The attentive visitor will be able to read it like a book: its architectural body, in fact, bears the traces of the entire history of the Church of Rome. Listen to Dr. Johana Bronkova, art historian and journalist for the Dicastery for Communication...

The diverse faces of St. Paul

Father Edmund Power OSB, abbot emeritus of the Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls, recounts details and secrets of the Basilica: the imposing and self-sufficient St. Paul of the 19th century, but also the weak and suffering St. Paul near the Crucifix. And then there is a holy water font that hides a secret in the face of Satan and, to balance this dark presence, his counterpart, St. Benedict and his battle against the Evil One....

The wonders of early Christian art

In the second chapter of the first letter of St. Peter, Christians are compared to “living stones,” which together constitute the spiritual house of God. The early Christian mosaic is also a symbol of the great “spiritual edifice,” composed of thousands and thousands of pictorial elements, within which all the tiles and colors play a fundamental role... Listen to Andreas Raub, Artistic-Scientific Director of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Francesca Bresciani

A strong and daring woman who was not afraid to challenge the man who, in those years, was considered the master of the world. Francesca Bresciani, the artisan chosen by Bernini himself because she was considered more talented than her colleagues, worked for three years on the decoration of the tabernacle of the Holy Sacrament. And she did not hesitate to rebel when Bernini cut her pay by 50% Listen to Dr. Assunta Di Sante of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.

The Donation of Constantine

Everyone has heard in school about the so-called Donation of Constantine, often presented as the archetype of a forged document intended to alter history. However, not everyone knows that the apocryphal nature of this imperial edict was exposed by Lorenzo Valla (1407–1457), a humanist and canon of the Lateran Basilica. Listen to Don Andrea Lonardo, Director of the Catechetical Office and the Catechumenate Service of the Diocese of Rome.