Daily newspaper Domani reported on Thursday that the manuscript was written by Baroque sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The report said that the suspect tried to sell the document to the Fabric of Saint Peter, the institution of the Roman Catholic Church that manages St Peter’s Basilica.

It said it has not yet been established whether the manuscript was stolen from the Vatican or from a private collection.

The accused, a lecturer and art historian, was the entity’s communications chief between 1995 and 2011.

He faces charges of receiving stolen goods, extortion and fraud, the report said.

ANSA