Before his week-long pilgrimage to Canada, Pope Francis prayed in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore before the especially venerated icon of the Mother of God, "Salus Populi Romani" ("Protectress of the Roman People"), in which the Virgin Mary is depict

Before his week-long pilgrimage to Canada, Pope Francis prayed in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore before the especially venerated icon of the Mother of God, "Salus Populi Romani" ("Protectress of the Roman People"), in which the Virgin Mary is depicted wearing a consular ring, signifying her betrothal to the people of Rome. The authorship of this icon is traditionally attributed to the Apostle Luke. "Salus Populi Romani" is one of the chief sacred treasures of the Ancient City.

Francis, now 85, still moves about in a wheelchair, in which he first appeared in public back in May, when doctors advised him to immobilise his ailing knee

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Before his week-long pilgrimage to Canada, Pope Francis prayed in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore before the especially venerated icon of the Mother of God, "Salus Populi Romani" ("Protectress of the Roman People"), in which the Virgin Mary is depict

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s