This handbook for all art lovers provides an identification guide to the Christian saints through their depiction in iconic artworks in public collections around the world.

Have you ever found yourself standing in a magnificent Renaissance church in Rome, gazing at the figures painted above a vast doorway, certain they must be the Twelve Apostles yet unable to tell one from another? Or perhaps you have visited the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna and encountered a vast, dramatic scene in which a female figure stands beneath a ship, leaving you wondering who she is and what terrible event is being portrayed. For two millennia, saints have been venerated and depicted by countless artists. While their stories were once widely known and their iconography instantly recognizable, today most of us can identify only a handful of them.

This field guide is designed to change that. It will help you recognize the distinctive attributes of each saint and direct you to some of the finest works of art in which they appear. Where relics of a saint survive and are on display - for example, the jawbone of St Anthony - these are included alongside notable artistic representations, whether in altarpieces, reliquaries, caskets or other works. The locations of both artworks and relics are provided so that readers can seek them out and experience them in their original settings.

The book concludes with a city-by-city guide to important depictions of saints around the world, enabling travellers, art lovers and the simply curious to discover these remarkable works wherever they may be.