Lines to tour the Vatican these days may be horrendous. But Houstonians will have a more intimate, insider's peek this spring at 40 masterpieces by the Italian Renaissance artists who made the Pope's compound a must-see. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has organized "Michelangelo and the Vatican: Masterworks from the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples," a show that could inspire some lines of its own during the three months it is on view, March 11-June 10.

The exhibition's 40 artworks -- including drawings, paintings, sculpture and prints -- promise a feast for the eyes. All were commissioned or completed during the papacy of Alessandro Farnese, Pope Paul III, who was an avid patron of the arts and architecture during the first half of the 16th century.