Written in 1914 Being born and raised a Roman Catholic I had to buy this book when I saw it at our local Friends of the Library shop.   The book is physically huge 12.5″ x 9.5″ x 2″.  It is full of photographs (unfortunately black & white).   Since the book was written in 1914 you get a sense of the unique political landscape at the time.  The Pope (Pius X) is known as the “Prisoner of the Vatican”.  The four Popes before him never set foot outside the Vatican to step on Italian soil.  This was a result of political relations between Italy and the Vatican in1870.  It is a little hard to imagine when we think of the modern Popes and how they travel so much.  The book had four major parts.  Part one covered the history and a general description of the Vatican palaces and gardens.  Part two covered the state apartments and chapels.  Part three the Vatican museums, collections, and mosaic factory.  Part four was the administration. At times I felt like I was reading a brochure for a museum.  Which by the way, the Vatican IS an excellent museum.  So why did the Popes think it…