In a display of the modesty that seems to be marking the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has decided not to move to lavish papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace—at least not for now.

Or you might glimpse a vision of Brigitte Bardot unfurling on the steps of the terracotta Casa Malaparte, the modernist marvel where she filmed her 1963 film Contempt, and where, more recently ...