Apostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace, also called the Papal Palace or the Palace of the Vatican, is the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.
The palace is a complex of buildings, comprising the Papal Apartment, the Catholic Church's government offices, a handful of chapels, the Vatican Museum and the Vatican library. In all, there are over 1,000 rooms with the most famous including Raphael's Rooms and the Sistine Chapel with its renowned ceiling frescoes painted by Michelangelo (restored between 1980-1990).
The other papal residences are at the Lateran Palace and the Castel Gandolfo outside Rome. The Vatican Palace displaced the Lateran Palace in prominence during the fifteenth century; but it was eclipsed for an extended period by the Quirinal Palace.
Before 1871, the Quirinal Palace was the Pope's official residence. After the final overthrow of the Papal States in 1870, the King of Italy confiscated that palace in 1871, making it the King's official residence. After the abolition of the Italian monarchy in 1946 it became the residence of the President of the Italian Republic.
Popular culture
The Apostolic Palace appears as a Wonder of the World in the Beyond the Sword expansion for Sid Meier's Civilization IV.
See also
- Borgia Apartment
- Clementine Hall
- Domus Sanctae Marthae
- Papal Gentlemen
- Papal Apartment
- Sistine Chapel
- Raphael Rooms
Publications
By far the best description of the Vatican and its contents was written by various scholars connected with the Vatican and edited by Ernesto Begni and others, The Vatican–its History–its Treasures (New York, 1914).[1] Briefer and more popular accounts are M. K. Potter, The Art of the Vatican (new edition, Boston, 1903), and D. B. W. Sladen, How to See the Vatican (New York, 1914).
| Papal symbols and rituals | |
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| Apostolic Palace · Camauro · Coat of arms · Conclave · Coronation · Fanon · Flabellum · Holy See · Inauguration · Mitre ·
Mozzetta · Papal Cross ·
Pallium · Popemobile · Regalia and insignia · Ring of the Fisherman · |
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