The author's journey through Rome is made to follow a sequence of biblical events and themes in works of art, starting with Genesis in the Sistine Chapel, through Incarnation (Pantheon), Crucifixion and Death (Catacombs), Resurrection (Michelangelo's Last Judgement for example). Themes include religion, violence and power, social injustice and motherhood. Each chapter examines the implications: so, in motherhood, the icon of Mary's sorrow forms the focus of a reflection on what it means to be a mother and on how the Catholic faith enshrines at its heart a maternal ethos that offers a highly ambivalent role for modern women.
