The IOR, Istituto Opere di religione, better known as ‘the Bank of the Pope’, was set up to support the pious works of the Church, the urgencies of charity. Yet, in its history there was no lack of intrigue. In these pages, thanks to documents and first-hand accounts, the controversial events that revolve around the Torrione Niccolò V, the ancient Vatican fortress where the Ior has its headquarters, are revealed, from its birth, in the middle of the World War, to the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano, the most colossal bankruptcy in the history of Italy. Pius XII, John Paul II, Michele Sindona, Paul VI, Agostino Casaroli, Paul Marcinkus, Roberto Calvi, Carlo Maria Martini: the book sheds full light on the role and responsibilities of the personalities who revolved around the Institute and many of Italy’s mysteries. It sounds like a novel, but instead it is true history, the result of a ten-year investigation.