NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 -- By 9am, the queue to the Vatican is already half a kilometre long. As a dutiful tourist, I feel I must see the Sistine Chapel, so I stroll about St Peter's square, waiting for the line to shorten. I also overhear a guide saying there are nearly a thousand other churches, 30% of which are treasure troves of priceless paintings and sublime sculptures by the same masters as in the Vatican (and generally free to enter). A perfect Plan B!
So, leaving the hectic Vatican behind, my tour of Rome's churches begins with a leisurely stroll to the Santa Maria del Popolo. In it, I find a chapel featured in Dan Brown's best-seller Angels & Demons, designed by Raphael with a spooky mosaic skeleton. There are sculpture groups by Gian...