Inside the Vatican

Despite it's tabloid-style title, Inside the Vatican is a pretty strait-laced monthly magazine edited in Rome with informed and careful articles. It's also one of the most beautifully illustrated publications on the planet. Imagine a sort of Catholic "National Geographic" devoted largely to Rome. And, well, yes, there is just a touch of Roman gossip. Well, it wouldn't be Roman without it, would it? Even if you can't come up with the readies for a subscription, you can get a taste of it by subscribing to their free "newsflash" service for an e-mail report on Vatican news. These days that's at least one a day, sometimes more. The latest ones are linked on the website.

You won't get the pictures, though, without subscribing.

[No, I didn't get paid for that. It's really a beautiful magazine.]