I have to ask myself, why am I reading this book? I have visited the Vatican twice, but both visits were several decades ago. I wondered if it would capture those experiences. Then, on page 26 I see my answer: "The combined effects of scale, space, richness of materials and elaboration of ornament seen and felt at St. Peter's are more potent than in any other building, religious or secular, anywhere in the world." Exactly. Author Keith Miller provides much detail on the evolution of the building and it's predecessor, the basilica constructed in the 4th century CE.

I cannot say I exactly follow all the details Miller explains, and perhaps I got a little bogged down with the elaborate burials in the crypt and reconstructions of the possible or probably location for the burial of the first pope, but I did stick with it.

There are occasional observations that make this a delicious read. Pg. 110: "Marble is carnal stuff. Often it looks less like stone than food. Melted and churned by intense volcanic heat..." and later, pg. 114; "...gleaming marble surfaces of mottled reds and fatty whites give parts of the interior a weirdly anatomical character, as if the visitor were Jonah, cast into the belly of a giant fish...."

And as I have had a Catholic education (and partly under the Jesuits, no less) I was a little concerned I might argue with the author about the history of The Church, but found the book's focus was mostly elsewhere. There is some sly humor as well. Discussing the Stuart monument by Canova, Miller comments on the two carved "ephebic youths who were partly draped...but whose heavy, epicene bottoms still seem to carry a slightly heavier patina than the rest of the monument, as if many classically inclined visitors had drawn a dreamy finger across them in some private ritual down the years" [ p. 161].

This is a great introduction or reacquaintance to a great architectural monument, and I look forward to more books in this series if they are written with the same informative and enlightened outlook. ( )

I picked up this volume on a whim in a Rome bookstore the day after I visited St Peter's for the first time, and read it on the plane home to Canada. This is the first time I've read anything by Miller, and anything from the Wonders of the World series, and I have to say I love the concept. The mix of history, aesthetic & cultural analysis, and personal observation really appeals to me. Each chapter constitutes another widely-informed lecture on a particular aspect of the cathedral, and I feel that I learned something interesting from each one. A good example is the chapter about the Basilica's shrine of St Peter and the claim that his bones were found in a tomb beneath it. I had previous read Michael Grant's _Saint Peter_, which is consider to be a pretty authoritative historical biography, but this book has a much better, more illuminating, more detailed account of how this belief came to be held and propagated. I rather wish I'd read this book beforehand, but I will definitely have it tucked under one arm the next time I visit St Peter's in Rome. ( )