Vatican Library

(Newser) - The 1496 European altarpiece Madonna della Vittoria contains an image of a non-native cockatoo, but that's no longer such a remarkable fact. Researchers now say they've found images of the bird in a manuscript penned by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II over a seven-year period beginning in 1241,...

(Newser) - Correcting a 700-year-old filing error, the Vatican will soon publish papers that clear the Knights Templar of heresy—a crime for which they burned at the stake in the 1300s. Scholars at the Vatican's Secret Archives plan to print the docs in a hefty leather-bound book that costs more than...

(Newser) - Despite rumblings from anxious researchers, the Vatican Library has closed its doors for at least 3 years to undergo renovations after an inspection this year revealed that the structure couldn’t support the weight of its books. Reading rooms were unusually full last week, the BBC reports, as researchers got...