Catholic Fire

The exhibit, "Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea,"  explores the concept of womanhood represented by the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the social and sacred functions her image has served through time. This landmark exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts brings together more than 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era masterworks from the Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery, and other museums, churches, and private collections in Europe and the United States. Related: Art Exhibit in Washington Explores the Madonna as Woman, Mother, and Idea

Thousands of tourists walk past Rome's Capitoline Hill each day. Its design comes from famed Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Within the historic square, the Capitoline Museum hosts an exhibit dedicated to him, to mark 450 years since his death. CLAUDIO PARISI Rome Superintendence of Cultural Heritage "It wasn't possible to show Michelangelo's greatest works, like the Sistine Chapel, the Piety or the David. But, we sought to bring his works that had never been seen together. The exhibit shows Michelangelo through works that are not well known, but hold lots of significance.” Among the highlights are the "Madonna of the Steps.” Michelangelo completed he relief sculpture at the age of 15. CLAUDIO PARISI Rome Superintendence of Cultural Heritage "Within a very confined space, a thin slab of marble, it already expresses some of the fundamental characteristics of the great Florentine artist. Perspective, the great attention to the delineation of the b...