The Sistine Secrets

Five hundred years ago Michelangelo began work on a painting that became one of the most famous pieces of art in the world—the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Every year millions of people come to see Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, which is the largest fresco painting on earth in the holiest of Christianity's chapels; yet there is not one single Christian image in this vast, magnificent artwork. The Sistine Secrets tells the fascinating story of how Michelangelo embedded messages of brotherhood, tolerance, and freethinking in his painting to encourage "fellow travelers" to challenge the repressive Roman Catholic Church of his time. "Driven by the truths he had come to recognize during his years of study in private nontraditional schooling in Florence, truths rooted in his involvement with Judaic texts as well as Kabbalistic training that conflicted with approved Christian doctrine, Michelangelo needed to find a way to let viewers discern what he truly believed. He could not allow the Church to forever silence his soul. And what the Church would not permit him to communicate openly, he ingeniously found a way to convey to those diligent enough to learn his secret language."—from the Preface Blech and Doliner reveal what Michelangelo meant in the angelic representations that brilliantly mocked his papal patron, how he managed to sneak unorthodox heresies into his ostensibly pious portrayals, and how he was able to fulfill his lifelong ambition to bridge the wisdom of science with the strictures of faith. The Sistine Secrets unearths secrets that have remained hidden in plain sight for centuries.

The Shocking Secrets of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Artwork The recent cleaning of the Sistine Chapel frescoes removed layer after layer of centuries of accumulated tarnish and darkness. The Sistine Secrets endeavors to remove the centuries of prejudice, censorship, and ignorance that blind us to the truth about one of the world's most famous and beloved art treasures. Some images that appeared in the print edition of this book are unavailable in the electronic edition due to rights reasons.

Every day up to 22,000 tourists visit the Sistine Chapel. In collaboration with the Edizioni Musei Vaticani, this book reproduces close-up views of Michelangelo's supreme work in new photography of the restored Sistine Chapel. It covers the frescoes of the 15th century, the ceiling and the Last Judgement.

There will come a time when you must decide to lead the life someone else has chosen for you…or the life you want. According to legend, when a young boy asked the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo why he was working so hard hitting the block of marble that would eventually become his greatest sculpture, David, the artist replied, “Young man, there is an angel inside this rock, and I am setting him free.” In The Angel Inside, the renowned consultant and career coach Chris Widener uses Michelangelo’s words to explore the hidden potential that exists within us all. In this unforgettable tale, Tom Cook, a disillusioned American businessman, has traveled to Italy looking for direction in his life. In Florence, the last city on his tour, Tom meets a mysterious old man who opens his eyes to the art and life of Michelangelo and reveals what the artist’s work can teach him—and all of us—about the power of following your passion. Among the lessons that Tom learns over the course of the next day: The beauty is in the details Your hand creates what your mind conceives All great accomplishments start with a single swift action No one begins by creating the Sistine Chapel Whether you’re looking for a way to reinvigorate your career or searching for the courage to begin a new one, THE ANGEL INSIDE is a must-read if you want to find true meaning in your life and work. The break-out business parable that’s already sold more than 70,000 copies, The Angel Inside tells the story of a young man searching for meaning in his work and finding it in an unlikely place: the life and art of Michelangelo.

Contains nearly three hundred photographs taken by Takashi Okamura showing the entire Ceiling, individual panels showing such scenes as the Creation of Adam and the Deluge, and details of prophets, sibyls, nudes, and other stunning figures.

When the chief prefect of archives is found mysteriously murdered in the Vatican Secret Archives, it unleashes a secret that has been safely buried for two thousand years. But a question arises from the dead: the victim was a follower of the long-lost religious group, the Cathars, a group of Medieval Christians who believes they were the heirs of the original teaching of Jesus. A renowned Daily Telegraph journalist, Jessica Keith, is assigned to cover the mysterious murder. Something unexpected happens when she meets a British numerologist, Professor Aaron Barone at a seminar in the University of London. They suddenly become fugitives when another murder takes place at his home in Hampstead. The church is trying to cover up the murder to keep their interests guarded. But the utmost of all secrets cannot be kept forever. Another secret is uncovered by the amateur art lover, Jacob Walmer. It lays embedded in the work of Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, in The Last Judgment. But it is not a discovery that the world wants to hear about. It is a secret that the church wants to bury forever, before it becomes a dark history in the modern Christian era. How will Professor Aaron correlate to the mysterious murder? What about Jacob’s attempt to solve the well-guarded puzzle in history? Will Jessica succeed in exposing the truth of her religion to the world?

Written by a Vatican insider and accomplished church historian, this book is a unique behind-the-scenes look at the world's smallest nation and the spiritual center of the Catholic Church. Produced with the full cooperation of the Vatican, this is a beautifully illustrated insiders guide into the 2,000-year-long history of the Vatican and papal influence, daily life and governance of the world's largest religious body, and the art collections and other priceless treasures rarely seen by the public. In addition to a unique photographic tour, the book includes personal interviews with various Vatican employees and insiders who make their home there, from a Swiss Guard to a singer in the Sistine Chapel choir. This book is an unparalleled look into life inside the Holy City.

What The Vatican Doesn't Want You To Know: The lies. The conspiracies. The cover-ups. The truth. Deep behind the walls of the world's holiest site is a dense network of lies, corruption, and conspiracies fueling the Vatican's vast and unchecked influence on world events. From the Holy Orders that defied the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" to the scandals splashed across international headlines, the Vatican is no longer shrouded in mystery, legend, and secrecy. It's all here: The shocking and unsolved murder of the corrupt Vatican financier known as "God's Banker" Real-life exorcism--and shocking rumors of Satanism The Vatican's startling views on extraterrestrials and end-of-world prophesies The Vatican's hidden ties to Nazi Germany and the Mafia The bizarre rituals of the ultraconservative Opus Dei The Vatican's ruthless 500-year war with the Freemasons Pope Pius XII's anti-Semitic indifference to the plight of Europe's Jews and the Holocaust And much more! This utterly fascinating, unflinching account is the most definitive exposé ever written about the most secretive institution in the world. H. Paul Jeffers is the author of The Bilderberg Conspiracy, Freemasons: Inside the World's Oldest Secret Society and Freemasons in America: Inside the Secret Society, among fifty other books. He has appeared on C-SPAN, Fox News, and The History Channel.