In Rome, the ancient world is palpably present, and nowhere else is the mission of the church so evident. While the humanists sought to preserve and re-create the ancient city, giving it a new lease on life, the popes dispensed patronage much as any other contemporary Italian ruler, resulting in masterpieces of unprecedented skill and power. Surveying this fertile era, John Marciari tells the story of the monuments, artists, and patrons of Renaissance Rome, and the dozens of color reproductions include a two-page spread of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling.