Because the Vatican has the Coolest Archive On the Planet

But you knew that already, right?

A preview of the official video for the exhibition-event Lux in Arcana — The Vatican Secret Archives reveals itself.

Filmed inside the Vatican Secret Archives, it shows rooms and bunkers in the Archive of the Popes, together with some of the 100 original documents that will leave the Vatican City for the first time in history. 12 centuries of history, 400 years of life, 85 kilometres of shelving: the world’s most famous Archive reveals itself in the extraordinary halls of Rome’s Capitoline Museums.

Conclaves, heresies, popes and emperors. Crusades, excommunications, ciphered letters. Manuscripts, codices, ancient parchments. An exceptional and once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn History through its sources. February-September 2012.

More details available over at The Telegraph, in London. Sounds to me like a great year to head to Rome. Ciao, Bella!

Photo credit: Archivo Segreto Vaticano