Lentorama 2026: Hic es: aedificia Vaticani

Day 30: Heliport, Viale Pio XI

Not a building per se, but in the interest of transportation completeness let's throw it in. The Vatican heliport is a concrete slab with parking tucked into the westernmost bastion of the Leonine Wall. It was built in 1976 by Paul VI to facilitate trips between the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo, as travel by car could take up to two hours one way.

The heliport is also occasionally used to get visiting dignitaries to the Vatican from Rome's airport. It can also be used for medical transport to the Bambino Gesu Hospital, a pediatric hospital in Rome that was donated to the Vatican and is under its extraterritorial jurisdiction.