A taste of Vatican art as relics go on display in three U.S. cities

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It's not often the Vatican goes on a road show.

When you're one of the planet's foremost cultural and religious institutions, the world tends to come to you. Those who want to see art commissioned by the popes or vie for an up close look at Pope Benedict XVI's fisherman's ring generally have to brave a trip to Rome.

"Vatican Splendors From Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Swiss Guard," which opened this month at Florida International Museum, brings some of the Catholic Church's most exquisite items on a three-city U.S. tour.

It is not some watered-down collection, as the exhibit's first room demonstrates. the rest