The Vatican today opens its secret archives to the public for the first time as part of an exhibition, Lux Arcana. 100 documents are going on display in Rome from over a millennium of European history. They include (l to r):

A letter from an imprisoned Marie Antoinette after the French Revolution in 1789, which reads: “The feelings of those who share my sorrow… are the only consolation I can receive in this sad circumstance.” (letter and detail)

A letter from Mary, Queen of Scots to Pope Sixtus V, written in Fotheringhay Castle in 1586, on the day she had been condemned to death.

Galileo Galilei’s signature on documents relating to his heresy trial.

The signature of Queen Christina of Sweden on her abdication documents. The Queen (who is believed to have been intersex and was widely rumoured at the time to be a lesbian), caused a scandal when she stepped down and converted from State Lutheranism to Catholicism in 1654.

A letter on silk written to Pope Innocent X by Grand Empress Dowager Helena Wang, of China, containing a request for help, dated November 4 1650.

(Source: reuters.com)