Pope Nicholas V declared that they would create "great buildings" that would demonstrate that "the authority of the Roman Church is the greatest and highest." Rome, said Pope Sixtus IV, would be "the capital of the world." The mission was to create the most magnificent city on Earth, so that pilgrims who couldn't read or write could see in its churches and palaces the glory of God and his popes. Rome's renaissance had begun. Across the skyline, the domes of grandiose churches started to rise. Popes and cardinals built the most sumptuous palaces to display the impressive art they'd commissioned. The most elaborate of these would be the papal residence itself, the Vatican. It was an astonishing endeavour that brought together the highest and lowest of human appetites. Spirituality and art vied with power, lust and greed. It took the patronage of many popes, the work of the greatest artists that have ever lived, and incalculable sums of money.


教皇尼古拉斯五世宣称，他将要建造伟大的建筑，以见证罗马教会之权威乃是最伟大和最高的。教皇希克斯塔斯四世说，罗马将成为世界之都。其使命就是建造世界上最宏伟的城市，这样那些不会认字和写字的朝圣者们便能够在教堂和宫殿中见证上帝极其教皇们的光辉。罗马的文艺复兴开始了。宏伟的教堂升起一个个穹顶，划过天际。教皇们和红衣主教们建造起最奢华的宫殿以承载那些他们所经手的令人震撼的艺术。其中最巧夺天工的就是教皇的官邸本身，梵蒂冈。它令人惊讶地努力将人类高尚和低级之趣味融合在了一起。精神和艺术同权利，欲望，贪婪相纷争。这件工程得到了多位教皇的赞助，许多世界上最伟大的艺术家参与其中，同时也耗费了大量的金钱。