{"product_id":"when-in-rome-a-journal-of-life-in-vatican-city-9780385486477","title":"When in Rome: A Journal of Life in Vatican City","description":"Lighthearted and altogether fascinating, \u003ci\u003eWhen in Rome\u003c\/i\u003e is a delightful backstairs tour of one of the world's most mysterious and eccentric cities. With his wife and three young sons, Robert Hutchinson moved to Rome shortly before his thirty-ninth birthday, intending to explore the Vatican in depth. He sought to capture \"the personality of the place: the smells and the traffic, the rich delicacies of Roman food, the perils of the Italian language, the way Italian monsignori push their way to the front of the line, just like their lay countrymen.\" \u003ci\u003eWhen in Rome\u003c\/i\u003e is the extraordinary journal of his Roman sojourn. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith playful good humor, Hutchinson introduces the varied and colorful individuals who live and work in the Vatican. In the process, he explores the mysterious orders of medieval knights, some dating back to the First Crusade, which still play a vital role in the Vatican; explains how bumbling Vatican archaeologists found, and then lost, the bones of St. Peter; probes the sex lives of the popes, from the \"pornocracy\" of Sergius III to the incestuous orgies of Rodrigo Borgia; experiences high fashion in the Holy See, including a visit to the pope's personal tailor; encounters the weird relics of Catholicism, such as the mummified body of St. Pius X and a museum made entirely out of human bones; recounts the true story behind the True Cross, now kept in a run-down church near the Colosseum; and much, much more. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHumorous, irreverent, but ultimately respectful, \u003ci\u003eWhen in Rome\u003c\/i\u003e does for the Vatican what \u003ci\u003eA Year in Provence\u003c\/i\u003e did for the French countryside, in an unforgettable and unprecedented eyewitness account of one of the most fascinating places on Earth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Main Street Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/15\/1998\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780385486477\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.23h x 5.68w x 0.88d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/1998 pg. 634\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/18\/1998 pg. 60\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/1998 pg. 1713\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/02\/1998 pg. 17\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Robert J. Hutchinson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36636796747932,"sku":"9780385486477","price":16.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_f48eeba2-ca1b-41d0-8e30-60e995760a13.jpg?v=1603842996","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/when-in-rome-a-journal-of-life-in-vatican-city-9780385486477","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}