Gardens of Vatican City

The Vatican Gardens ( Giardini Italian Vaticano ) comprise more than half of the 44 ha of the territory of Vatican City. You are in the west of the Papal States and home to several buildings of the same.

Geography and vegetation

The gardens, about 20 acres ( 200,000 m²) extend, primarily cover the Vatican hill, which rises up to 60 m above the surrounding neighborhoods of the city of Rome. They are bounded to the north, south and west by the Vatican wall.

The west of the Vatican City is characterized by rugged terrain waste caused by the porous, ocher-colored tuff.

Under the rock to find sources that in earlier times guaranteed a safe water supply to the Pope and also support the sub-tropical, lush vegetation of the gardens.

A large part of the Vatican Gardens is created by human hands, wide lawns cover primarily the shallower part near the St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, but well-prepared flower beds, which especially during the Renaissance, when the need of the Popes courtly and artistic representation strengthened, and even more were built in the Baroque can be found here.

The area between the Leonine Wall and the seat of the Vatican administration is the most original of the gardens: dense forests of pine, pines, oaks, cypresses, cedars and palms dominates the hilly terrain. The gardens are traversed by an extensive network of trails. In the westernmost part of the Vatican city, a bastion of the Vatican wall, is the Vatican heliport, which connects among others, the Vatican City with the international airports of Rome Fiumicino and Rome Ciampino.

Wildlife

The Vatican Gardens submitted within the densely populated city of Rome a natural habitat and habitat for many animal species represents, especially for small animals and birds. Among the most important species include various species of bats, rodents ( hamsters, mice, squirrels, rabbits ), birds, including parrots and parakeets, as well as reptiles ( lizards, snakes).

History

Gardens of the Vatican hills were first under Pope Nicholas III. mentioned. Plants were in the late 13th century there drawn as in a monastery garden health. However, other crops such as fruits and vegetables thrived in this " hortus conclusus " and in the far north, near the present-day Vatican Pinacoteca, you can see the medieval chicken coop today. Although the Vatican City was never self -catering but had always attached importance to a certain self-sufficiency, which suggests the Sistine Chapel to the 80 years of the 20th century a working bakery was that processed the cultivated cereals in the Vatican Gardens.

However, in the late Middle Ages, the gardens lost their economic function, to the Vatican after the exile of the Popes in Avignon in 1420 regained importance as a residence. Innocent VIII was the end of the 15th century striking interest in the green areas - now, however, to relax and find peace. He settled from 1485 is typical for Rome Belvedere, an airy perch above the rooftops of the city, built on the highest northeastern tip of the Leonine city to the better air, reaching views of the Albanian mountains to Monte Soracte and the rest of the to enjoy official duties. The provided with a large loggia building was painted by Andrea Mantegna, Pinturiccio and Pier Matteo d' Amelia with frescoes, however, this largely removed during renovations in the 18th century. Today, the Belvedere Palace is part of the Vatican Museums.

Pius IV in 1559 showed keen interest in the gardens: it laid in the northern part a decorative renaissance garden at, in the center of which he had a country house, the Casina building, which was designed by Pirro Ligorio in the Mannerist style.

Besides numerous other embodiments of the gardens during the Renaissance, Pope Gregory XIII. 1578 the Tower of the Winds, which served as an observatory for astronomical foundations of his calendar reform.

A major innovation for the Vatican Gardens was the pre- run of fresh water from the 40 km from the Lake Bracciano, which fed several designed by the Dutch water features and cascading fountains since 1607.

Since the second half of the 17th century, the green areas were more and more used for botanical purposes. Clement XI. strove for the planting botanical rarities, which thrive in the subtropical climate.

With the increasing popularity of the English landscape design in the 19th century, large areas of the Vatican Gardens, about 1850, were designed according to these templates.

Pius IX. and Leo XIII. , which is increasingly felt as prisoners due to political tensions with the new Kingdom of Italy from 1871 and the consequent collapse of the Vatican's sovereignty, could get the gardens comprehensive care and design.

Leo XIII. founded in 1888 the Vatican animal park in which initially were mainly aviaries with singing birds. After the Primate of Africa had the pontiff bestowed the occasion of his jubilee of priestly ordination gazelles, ostriches and pelicans, but further exhibits for these were created. In 1890 he was on the heights in the central part of the gardens to build a summer residence, which he describes as " my little Castel Gandolfo ," in reference to the Papal summer residence on Lake Albano, designated.

According to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 mandated Pius XI. , Also to demonstrate the re -won sovereignty of Vatican City, the architect Giuseppe Momo with the construction of various buildings in the monumental - cool style of the Mussolini era, however, resulted in a further urbanization of the Vatican Gardens. It emerged the Governatoratspalast, the Vatican and the Pontifical Ethiopian College Station.

The next engagement in the gardens took place in 1976, when under Paul VI. the Vatican heliport was built, which has since joining the Vatican city especially with the International Ciampino airport and the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.

Fountains of the Vatican Gardens

There are numerous skillfully crafted fountain in the gardens; Especially during the Renaissance and Baroque created numerous elaborate fountain in the gardens that reflect the artistic representation needs of the popes:

• Adlerbrunnen
• Fountains and water the Casina of Pius IV
• Galley fountain ( located outside of the Vatican Gardens, Piazzale della Galera in Vatican City )
• Joseph Fountain ( Vatican), built in 2010 and Pope Benedict XVI. dedicated
• Shell Fountain ( Vatican)
• Figurine fountain (Vatican )
• Sacrament wells (Vatican )
• Triton Fountain (Vatican ), in the Rose Garden

Building in the Vatican Gardens

• Mater Ecclesiae convent
• Leonine Wall
• Broadcasting center Marconi
• Of John Tower
• The Pontifical Ethiopian College
• The Governatoratspalast
• Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini
• Directorate Vatican Radio
• The Vatican train station
• The Vatican Court
• Casina
• Pontifical Academy of Sciences
• Carriage Pavilion
• House of the Archpriest
• Palazzo San Carlo
• Gallinaro Tower
• Tower of the Winds
• Gardener's House

Others

Part of the Vatican Gardens could be visited within a guide ( by appointment only ). Since his retirement as Pope Benedict XVI lives. in the monastery Mater Ecclesiae, which is why the gardens for visitors to remain blocked until further notice.

For the care of the grounds, the Directorate is technology services of the Governorate of Vatican City ( Governatorato SCV - Direzione dei Servizzi Technici - Servizio Giardini ) responsible.