“In 1581, the Gallery of Maps was inaugurated under pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni, born in Bologna. He was a cultured and strict Pope during the Counter-Reformation, and he loved the Church, science, arts and Italy equally. He was the Pope who implemented the calendar reform we still associate with his name today.”

Following this introduction, in a 2016 issue of “L’Osservatore Romano” art historian Antonio Paolucci reported on the end of the renovation of the Gallery of Maps – a 120-meter-long “corridor” that is now part of the Vatican Museums, leading to the Sistine Chapel; its walls are covered in wonderful aerial views of various regions in Italy, each one completed by maps of the most important cities in the area.