A VISIT TO THE VATICAN GARDENS
Greetings.
As we celebrate Pope Francis’s historic first visit to the United States, I thought I’d take you to Europe for a visit to the Pope’s hometown, Vatican City. Vatican City in Rome is not just a city but is also the world’s smallest independent state. Established in 1929, it’s home to the Pope, his staff and security group, cardinals and the Pontifical Swiss Guards. Vatican City covers about 110 acres and as you can see in the map & model below, the Vatican Gardens stretch across an area of nearly 58 acres that constitutes over half of Vatican territory
The Vatican Gardens have been a place of quiet and meditation for every pope since Pope Nicholas III who moved his residence to the Vatican in 1279. About 5 million tourists a year visit the Vatican, but only a small percentage of those gain access to the Vatican Gardens. Brad and I paid a visit to the Vatican Gardens on our last trip to Rome and today I’m going to take you there too. First you must pass through these magnificent iron gates that are guarded by imposing Swiss Guards.
Most people who visit the Vatican head straight for Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican museums, which of course are not to be missed. But it’s really special to venture beyond the usual places and get a peek at what lies beyond. It is a must to visit the Vatican’s official website before you travel and have a look at all the various tours that are available. Buy tickets in advance and skip the lines and long waits. The Vatican Gardens can only be visited by guided tour and your ticket also includes entry to the Vatican Museum. We took a walking tour of the gardens that started early in the morning, allowing us the afternoon to visit the Vatican museum. You can also take an open-air bus tour of the gardens as well.
Our tour started here, where we had a beautiful view of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The area known as Vatican Hill was filled with a massive amount of earth which was excavated to make way for St. Peter’s Basilica. Literally formed on “hallowed ground”, the Vatican Gardens represent one of the most unique gardens in the world.
Vatican City is also likely the most lovely city in the world, where beauty abounds everywhere you look. These vehicles were carrying a beautiful load of flowers. The “SCV” on the truck’s licence plate stands for “Stato della Città del Vaticano”, State of the Vatican City.
We visited in the month of August when the gardens were in full bloom.
Walking in the Pope’s footsteps we come to an area known as “Casina Pio IV”. This is the most ancient part of the Vatican Gardens and houses one of the first papal pleasure pavilions created in 1279 by Pope Nicholas III.
Beautiful mosaics ornament the buildings which house a statue of a pagan princess. Known as the “Nympheum” of the Casina Pio IV, this was a monument consecrated to nymphs, who were mythological spirits of nature and imagined as beautiful maidens that inhabited rivers and woods.
Just below the statue was a basin of water that was also home to a resident turtle. His color actually matched that of the mosaics. Can you see him there below?
These buildings were originally used both as a summer residence and as a hunting lodge. At the time wildlife was still roaming the Vatican and apparently the Popes enjoyed hunting.
The Vatican has many fountains, 97 in all. The baroque “Fontane dell’Aquilone”, Fountain of the Eagle, was created for Pope Paul V, a Borghese Pope, to celebrate the restoration of Trajan’s aqueduct which was achieved under his leadership. The eagle was an emblem of the Borghese family.
The surprisingly pagan looking fountain with its cave-like structures covered in green moss, features dragons spitting water and statues posing naked under the waterfalls.
The plaque below also features an eagle.
Within the Vatican Gardens there are structures that are living quarters for visiting priests, there is the Ethiopian College where priests come to study, the Vatican Radio Station, a railway station, the Palace of Governatorato, as well as the Guest House where our present Pope Francis resides.
There is also a convent of nuns on the grounds.
Via Pio XI takes us to the highest point of the gardens where we find the Lourdes Grotto.
The spiritual heart of the park, the Lourdes Grotto is an exact replica of the one at Massabielle, France. It was donated by the French in 1902 to the Pope at the time. A statue of Mary is framed by a bright green mantle of American ivy.
John Paul II often invited young people to pray the rosary with him at the Lourdes shrine.
It is an amazing feeling to be walking the paths were the Popes have come for centuries to convene with nature.
The garden was the only place popes could go when they wanted to be outside on their own.
Beyond this Garden lies the heliport built under Pope Paul VI, which Roman Pontiffs now regularly use when going on their numerous pastoral trips. Before the installation of the heliport, whenever the Pope would leave the Vatican whole sections of Rome would be shut down for the Pope’s motorcade. Traffic in Rome is terrible enough without this interruption, so the Italian government donated this Heliport to the Vatican.
The ancient 40 foot tall Leonine Wall was commissioned by the ninth-century Pope Leo IV after an uprising threatened his safety.
The Madonna and Child graces a wall.
This bell is a memento of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
This is St. John’s Tower which houses papal apartments used by Popes when maintenance work is being done on the Apostolic Palace. It is also reserved for illustrious guests of the Pontiffs.
I enjoyed the neatly trimmed boxwoods and the formality of the area known as the Italian Garden.
From our vantagepoint overlooking the garden we were greeted by one of the Vatican’s many kittens. We were told by our guide that cats are fed and cared for at the Vatican because the former Pope Benedict XVI adored them.
Star Jasmine covers the arches in the French Garden. I am told it smells wonderful in the month of May when the arches are in full bloom.
On the left is the shrine of the “Madonna della Guardia” . In 1915, the Genoese Pope Benedict XV built a small temple in the gardens of the Vatican City where a statue of Our Lady of the Watch (given to the Pope by the people of Genoa, Italy) was enshrined. Most Popes over time have donated something to leave their imprint on the garden.
This oasis of lush gardens filled with flower beds, green lawns, groves of massive old trees, ancient fountains, sculptures, and grottoes was an amazing place to visit. As our tour concluded we exited the gardens and started our tour of the amazing Vatican museums. I hope to share with you highlights of that visit soon.
So there you have it: A VISIT TO THE VATICAN GARDENS
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