Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 25: Chiesa di Santo Stefano degli Abissini, Via delle Fondamenta

The Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians is the national church of Ethiopia at the Vatican. Tucked in behind St. Peter's, it survived the destruction of the original basilica, and is the oldest surviving church in Vatican City.

The church was built in the early 5th century by Pope Leo I, and was named for Stephen the Protomartyr, a deacon mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles who was stoned to death in Jerusalem for blasphemy. When the Vatican started to see increased numbers of pilgrims from Ethiopia, it gave that community this church for a center of worship, along with a nearby monastery. The monastery would eventually be replaced by the Ethiopian College, but the church remained.

While not generally open to the public, it is sometimes used for special occasions outside of its role with the Ethiopian community. Most notable in that regard was the 2006 wedding of Lord Nicholas Windsor to  Paola Louise Marcia Doimi de Lupis, which marked the first Catholic marriage of a member of Britain's royal family (Windsor is the son of the Duke of Kent and a godson of Charles III) since the 16th century.

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 24: Torre Niccolo V, Via di Belvedere

When Nicholas V became pope in 1397, one of the first things he did was start to rebuild Rome, which included improvements to the city fortifications. This tower, just off of the Gate of St. Anne, was part of his building program. 

Now part of the Apostolic Palace complex, it now serves as the headquarters of the Institute of the Works of Religion, better known as the Vatican Bank. The bank was formed in 1942 by Pius XII, merging other bodies related to finance and the charitable working of the church. It doesn't operate as a private bank or a central bank, but as of 2014 is described as providing "specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide."

Historically, some of those "specialized financial services" went to groups outside of the church, such as the Mafia, a Masonic lodge called P2, and the CIA (some of these connections are proven, other still alleged). The bank also was involved in a couple of notable bank collapses in the 1970s and 1980s, bringing increased scandal and financial losses to the Vatican.

Things did not particularly improve as the bank moved into the 21st century, as it regularly fought off charges of fraud and money laundering for some of its activities. Attempts at significant reform finally started in 2010, with the Vatican entering into a monetary agreement with the EU and the establishment of a financial watchdog, the Financial Intelligence Authority. The bank also had increased compliance and transparency requirements put on it, and is now required to publish an annual report. This all seems to have helped, as it's been a few years since the last notable bank scandal, but we'll see what the future holds.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 23: Statzione Vaticana

This is the dedicated terminal for the Vatican Railway, which at 300 meters is the shortest national railway in the world. The railway was established to connect the Vatican to the Italian rail system by a connection at the Roma San Pietro station. 

Rail access to and from the Vatican was guaranteed in the Lateran Treaty of 1929, and Pope Piux XI started construction of the railway and station shortly after ratification. 

The station was designed by - surprise! - Giuseppe Momo, and opened in 1933. It does not get a lot of use, mostly for freight and the occasional trip out to Castel Gandolfo. Pope Francis opened the rail line to the public so that tour groups to Gandolfo could take the train out there, but as far as I can tell there's no regular service. It's also not clear to me if the station is open to the public generally, or if there is actually a stamp and coin museum there. I think the Vatican is missing an opportunity to get train geeks to visit.

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 22: Greenhouses, Viale San Marco

I didn't find much information about the greenhouses (or maybe just greenhouse?) at the Vatican, other than that they (it?) exist(s). I assume it's helpful in both preparing plants for the gardens and providing the various sacramental and living spaces with flora. There is a lot more out there about the greenhouse and other facilities at Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer residence, which now houses a training center for ecologically-focused agriculture.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 21: Pinacoteca, Viale della Zitella

For centuries, as popes acquired paintings, they would be displayed in various places around the Apostolic Palace. It wasn't until the 20th century that the collection was given a proper home, as Piux XI called on old friend Luca Beltrami (who had been given a number of other Vatican commissions) to create the Pinacoteca. It opened in 1932, the year before Beltrami died.

The museum has a collection of about 460 works, mostly Italian. The artists represented in the collection run from Giotto to Leonardo to Raphael to Caravaggio. 

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 20: Casina del Giardiniere, Rampa dell'Archeologia

The gardener's lodge is located (not surprisingly) in the Vatican Gardens, located just behind St. Peter's and near the St. Peter memorial. There's not a lot of information about the lodge online, other than it's the home of the Vatican's head gardener. I did find a mention that it was built in the 12th century, and from the pictures I could find I don't doubt it. 

It's not open to the public, which isn't surprising as it's someone's house. You do see it on some of the garden tours, hopefully those folks have more information about the building than what's on Google.

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 19: Torre Gregoriana

The Gregorian Tower, also known as the Tower of the Winds, is unique in that it's a building built on top of other buildings. Constructed between 1578 and 1580, the two-story tower in on top of the Gallery of Maps that is part of the Vatican Museum. It served as an observatory, as the planned Gregorian calendar reform would involve a number of astronomical observations.

Outside of a period in the 19th century, the tower (now actually two towers) has served as an observatory, though is now more of an historical site. It also features some 16th century Flemish frescoes, and was once the residence of Queen Charlotte of Sweden after she converted to Catholicism. 

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 18: Residence of the Arch-Priest, Piazza Santa Marta

Located next to San Carlo, the residence is the home of the arch-priest of St. Peter's Basilica. This appears to be a largely honorary position, though it does seem like the current arch-priest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, does have a fairly public role with regards to St. Peter's. He is, however, also the president of the Fabric of St. Peter, the organization responsible for the conservation and maintenance of the basilica, which seems like a job that would require some public face time.

As far as the residence goes, I can't really find anything about it online other than where it's located, just on the corner of St. Marta's Square. I did find one page stating that the residence also has offices for those who work in St. Peter's, like vicars, canons, etc.  

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 17: Torre San Giovanni

Saint John's Tower was built by Pope Nicholas III in the 13th century, likely as part of improved fortifications. It fell into disuse by the 16th century, and wasn't used for much until Pope John XXIII rebuilt it in the early 1960s.

That rebuild created papal apartments for use when the apartments in the Apostolic Palace are being renovated or otherwise unavailable. It occasionally also gets use for other non-popes, and has on at least one occasion served as the reception area for a US presidential visit (Benedict XVI welcomed George W. Bush to the Vatican in the tower when he visited in 2008).

Pope Francis gave the tower a more official purpose when he made it the seat of the new Secretariat for the Economy, which he created in 2014. The secretariat covers all financial and economic matters of the Vatican, as well as its human resources department.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 16: Palazzo San Carlo, Piazza Santa Marta

The Palazzo San Carlo was built in 1932 on the site of the Hospital of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo (who gives it his name) and was designed by, you guessed it, Giuseppe Momo. It serves as both a residential and office building.

Among its tenants are the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority, set up by Pope Benedict in 2010. This financial intelligence unit seeks to prevent or fight against counterfeiting, money laundering, or the financing of weapons of mass destruction. I don't know how often the Vatican winds up involved in financing the purchase of weapons grade uranium, but I'm glad someone's keeping an eye out.

The building is also the headquarters of the Association of Vatican Lay Workers, which is more or less a union for non-clerical employees of the Vatican. The roots of its founding go back to 1979, but the group was formally recognized by the Vatican in 1993 - after it led a strike in 1988 for improved working conditions and a campaign of mass resignations in 1992 to get pensions.

Among its more notable residents is Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, a former Secretary of State and camerlengo who served as head of state between Benedict's abdication and the election of Pope Francis. Already one to draw attention to himself, he came under fire for the renovation of two apartments in San Carlo to form one large penthouse for himself and his staff. While he claimed he paid for the renovations himself, it was later discovered that funds from the Bambino Gesu Hospital were used, with the idea that the apartment would be used several times during the year to entertain and meet with potential hospital donors.

Care to guess how many of those meetings took place?

Two hospital executives were tried for diverting funds to the renovation, but only one was convicted, and then of a lesser crime.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 15 - Farmacia Vaticana

Located within the Belvedere Palace (which we'll get to), the Vatican pharmacy was founded in 1874, when the Vatican's Secretary of State charged a monk of the Brothers Hospitaliers of St. John of God to supply medicines for the pope and resident cardinals. They'd been stuck in the Vatican since 1870, thanks to a dispute over the annexation of Rome to the Kingdom of Italy.

While it started as a medicinal storeroom, it expanded into what we would recognize as a pharmacy in 1892, and would move to its current location in 1929 after the signing of the Lateran Treaty. 

It's often said that the Vatican pharmacy is the busiest one in the world, serving an estimated 2000 customers per day. It's open to anyone who is on the Vatican's health plan, and people not on that plan can apply for a permit to use the pharmacy. The bureaucracy is worth it, though, as the lack of regulations applying to the pharmacy means it can stock medications not approved in Italy. As the Vatican also has no taxes, purchases are duty free.

What you won't find at the pharmacy, though, is anything contrary to Catholic social teaching, so no contraceptives or related sexual health medication. It also doesn't carry medicinal marijuana products or traditional Chinese medicines, for reasons I'm assuming aren't Catholic social teaching-related. They also sell some health and beauty products, prompting this review of their line of perfumes. 

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 14 - Torre del Gallinari

Also known as the Gallinarium tower or the Gallinaro Tower, there's not a lot of information out there about this tower, which is found in the Vatican Gardens in the northeast of the city state. It was apparently built for Pope Innocent VIII in the 15th century during work done to walls and other structures to the north of the Apostolic Palaces.

Pius XI used it as a botanical "garden," but I'm not sure what that means as the best source I could find on the tower is in Italian, and I'm working off of an English abstract. The abstract does note that the tower isn't listed in contemporaneous sources, and is hard to pick out in representations of the walls from the period.  So the lack of easy information in English is not surprising.

You'll see the tower in the Vatican Gardens today, and it does feature among some of the public tours.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 13: Vatican Publishing House, Via della Posta

Sixtus V founded the Vatican Publishing House in 1587, and for centuries it included both a press and a bookstore. That bookstore was spun off into its own entity in 1926 by Piux XI, and became a publishing house charged with the production and sales of books printed by the publishing house. 

The house mostly handled official documents and publications of the Vatican, but would later move into publishing works by popes. It turns out that the house holds the copyright to all papal writings, but didn't enforce the copyright until Benedict XVI took office. They stated that the copyright is only enforced in cases where a text no more than 50 years old is republished without citing the Vatican copyright.

In 2015 Francis announced the formation of a Secretariat of Communication, and the house (along with the press) was moved under its umbrella.

Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 12: Museo Pio-Cristiano

Founded two years after the establishment of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, Pope Pius IX founded this museum in 1854 as a place to house excavated items that could not be conserved where found (though a number of items already in Vatican or Roman collections found their way here).

The museum has two halves, one dedicated to monuments, sculptures, and mosaics, the other to inscriptions. The former is open to the public, and apparently has a good collection of sarcophagi. The latter half is for academics only.

Originally housed in the Lateran Palace, the museum was moved to a new building in 1963.

 Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 11: Church of San Pellegrino in the Vatican, Via dei Pellegrini

Built around 800 by Pope Leo III, it is named for St. Peregrine of Auxerre, who was martyred while serving as that city's first bishop in the third century AD. It was originally San Pellegrino in Naumachia, referencing  nearby facility for staging mock naval battles.

After a couple of stints assigned to a Vatican monastery, Clement X gave the church to the Swiss Guard in the 17th century, and for a time it would be the national church of Switzerland in Rome. Today it's the home church of the Vatican's gendarmerie and fire fighters.