Written for the pilgrim and sightseer c.1143 by Benedict, a canon of St. Peter's, this is the best medieval guide to the city and an important source for the location of its medieval churches and ancient monuments. It narrates the early Christian legends that are connected with many of these sites; and documents the medieval sense of Rome's ancient grandeur. In the twelfth century the inhabited part of Rome, the abitato, as it was called, was a small city tucked into the bend of the Tiber River in the midst of the ruins of the great ancient city. The walls and gates of the ancient city were...

These captivating essays by Pope Benedict XVI deal with various issues facing the Church in the world today, including what unites and divides denominations, liturgy and sacred music, peace and justice in crisis, and interreligious dialogue and Jewish-Christian relations.
As David Schindler notes in his introduction, -Cardinal Ratzinger -- Pope Benedict XVI -- rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology.- This volume on the...