A ninth of a second at St Peter's Basilica

I just read somewhere that it is "impossible" to calculate the wealth of the Catholic Church. They have been impossibly wealthy for a long time.

Ahh, I missed your question! :)

Yes, I agree -- wealth makes art and that was truer in earlier centuries than today. Those churches are gob-smackingly beautiful, and St Peter's is -- for its over-sized everything -- one of the best examples. I made what felt like a sprint through the Vatican Museum and was astounded at the art that is there.

(In Florence I saw what I was told is the only documented Michelangelo painting, his Doni Tondo. Presumably that, having been previously privately owned, is now owned by the Italian people. Good idea.)

Yes, the guide who said this explicitly excluded sculpture and mural; he also excluded any lost, disputed or "assumed" works. The tondo has a perfectly documented history of ownership, unlike any of the others (so he said).

In my three weeks there, I saw *many* other works by Michelangelo! A friend with me wished he could wear Google Glass through his entire trip in order to be able to remember everything he saw. :)