<jats:p>This volume provides the first comprehensive analysis of the role played by the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy in papal Rome from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, examining how they influenced social welfare systems and governance. Drawing on a multidisciplinary research approach, it brings together archival documents, artworks, and material-culture objects to offer a broad, nuanced, and original perspective on public welfare practices in the heart of Christendom.</jats:p>