A preview of the official video for the exhibition-event Lux in Arcana -- The Vatican Secret Archives reveals itself http://www.luxinarcana.org. 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.

Galileo's retraction of his theories and the excommunication of Martin Luther are among the closely guarded documents that the Vatican has put on display to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of its archives at its current location in Rome.

The Holy See on Wednesday opened an exhibition of 100 documents -- a tiny fraction of its archives -- in Rome’s Capitoline Museums. The exhibit is entitled “Lux in Arcana: The Vatican Secret Archives Reveals itself.”

It is the first, and possibly the only time, the documents will be seen outside the Vatican walls, according to the exhibition’s website.

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