If the Sistine Chapel reflected the moral vision of Christian Rome, is there any such coherent view in Modern Rome of how we humans should understand our purpose and live our lives? 

Popes have frequently attacked the moral, political, and intellectual developments that gave birth to modern Italy. On the occasion of the death of Pope Benedict, we today review his controversial Regensburg Address to see what it says about modern Rome.

Modern Rome, Rome of the People, Secularism, Secular Rome We return today to the "secular" or non-religious character of modern Rome in order to see more clearly how much the Rome of the People has changed from the Rome of the Popes.

101. Michelangelo's Last Judgment

Are big lies necessary for good politics? Consider the Sala di Costantino in the Vatican Museums and see https://t.co/a2kauRlB8c Rooms, #Vatican Museums

St. Peter in Chains and Moses in Marble For an introduction to Michelangelo, Julius II, and the Roman Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, see https://t.co/aoJxgWvJb8 or listen on the Get Ready for Rome podcast. #San Pietro in Vincoli

Why did Michelangelo frame his biblical scenes in the Sistine Chapel with over 100 nudes? If you want to know, you might enjoy the most recent podcasts of the Get Ready for Rome podcast series. Find them on any podcast carrier and at my website, https://t.co/yYRokzCwpk.

The four Pendentives of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling represent four different dramatic stories from the Old Testament. What are these stories, and what do they teach? To get started, listen to Episode 100 of the Get Ready for Rome podcast.

We know that Michelangelo's painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was an extraordinary achievement, but what subjects does he represent and what teaching do they convey? Podcast: Get Ready for Rome

The Design of the Sistine Ceiling

Michelangelo dominates the Sistine Chapel, but the chapel's walls feature twelve frescoes by the previous generation of great Florentine artists. We look today at two by Botticelli as an introduction to all twelve.

We return for a second introduction to the Sistine Chapel and outline some of the main challenges Michelangelo had to overcome in painting the ceiling.

The Overlooked Side Walls of the Sistine Chapel: This episode introduces the twelve frescoes on the side walls of the Sistine Chapel, which invite a comparison between the lives and laws of Moses and Jesus.

We today make a first visit to the Sistine Chapel and look generally at the three different waves of Renaissance frescoes that decorated it. Two of these are by Michelangelo.

The difficulty of seeing Ancient Rome is that not much of it exists. The distinguished archeologist Rodolfo Lanciani documents this, and today we compare his ways of explaining its disappearance with those of Edward Gibbon.

American troops liberated Rome from German occupation just 2 days before D-Day. What made it possible, and why did the liberation occur when it did?

We have taken an introductory look at the reasons Paganism was replaced Christianity, but why have so many of the grand buildings the pagans built simply disappeared? Was it simply the work of time? We begin today with Gibbon's answer to this question.

We today consider Gibbon’s explanation of how the Christians of Constantine’s century advanced their faith by taking active measures against paganism. As he makes his case, Gibbon also extends his unflattering portrait of the followers of the new faith.

Edward Gibbon's “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” advances five causes for the early Christians' triumph over their pagan and Hebrew rivals. This week's "Get Ready for Rome" podcast discusses them.

Constantine and the Christianization of Rome After noting the contradictory ways Constantine is remembered in Roman art and architecture, we turn to the main policies of this first Christian Emperor.