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| Photo courtesy of http://www.luxinarcana.org |
One hundred original documents from the Vatican Secret Archives are now on display at the Capitoline Museums in Rome from March through September. The documents have been sealed in the Pope’s archives for 400 years, and this is the first time they have been made available for the public to view (and may possibly be the only time), or have even left the confines of the Vatican City walls.
Some of the documents available for viewing at the exhibition include:
- A handwritten note by Marie Antoinette of France while she was in prison
- Proceedings from the heresy trial of Galileo Galilei on his scientific theories
- A letter from Michelangelo to the bishop of Cesana regarding the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica
- An appeal by the English Parliament asking the Pope to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon
- A letter written on silk from Empress Helena of China to Pope Innocent X, dated November 4, 1650.
- A letter from Abraham Lincoln to Pope Pius IX
The documents will be on display at the Capitoline Museums, located in Piazza del Campidoglio, until September 9, 2012. The exhibition is open Tuesday – Sunday from 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM, with last admission at 7:00 PM. Regular tickets are €12, and include entrance to both the exhibit and Capitoline Museums. For further details, you can visit the official exhibition site by clicking here (available in English and Italian).
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