The Gardens of Vatican City ( la, Horti Civitatis Vaticanae), also informally known as the Vatican Gardens ( it, Giardini Vaticani) in

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, are private urban gardens and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

s which cover more than half of the country, located in the west of the territory and owned by the Pope. There are some buildings, such as

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

and the Governor's Palace, within the gardens. The gardens cover approximately , about half of the city. The highest point is

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Stone walls bound the area in the North, South, and West. The gardens and parks were established during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

era and are decorated with fountains and sculptures. Pope Francis opened the Vatican Gardens to the public in 2014. Individuals and pre-formed groups, considered to consist of 16 or more people, may visit the Gardens with the presence of a tour guide. The gardens also enshrine 18 Marian images venerated worldwide at the designation of the Pope, who is the owner of the gardens.

History

Helena of Constantinople (Cima da Conegliano)

Pious tradition claim that the foundation site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with sacred soil brought from

Mount Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

by Empress Saint Helena to symbolically unite the blood of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

with that shed by thousands of

early Christians Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...

, who died in the persecutions of Emperor Nero Caesar Augustus. Archived: March 8, 2012. The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the Papal

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and t ...

. In 1279,

Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III ( la, Nicolaus III; c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who ...

(Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, 1277–1280) moved his residence back to the Vatican from the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

and enclosed this area with walls. He planted an orchard ''(pomerium)'', a lawn ''(pratellum),'' and a garden ''(viridarium)''. Firstly, they appeared near the hills of Sant'Egidio where today the Palazzetto del Belvedere and the Courtyards of the Vatican Museums are located. The site received a major re-landscaping at the beginning of the 16th century, during the pontificate of

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or t ...

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...

's original design was then split into three new courtyards, the ''Cortili del Belvedere'', the ''"della Biblioteca"'' and the ''"della Pigna"'' (or ''Pine Cone'') in the

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and ga ...

style. Also in Renaissance style, a great rectangular

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by ...

, formal in design, set in

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

and framed with Italian stone pines, ''(Pinus pinea)'' and cedars of Lebanon, ''(Cedrus libani)''. In place of Nicholas III's enclosure, Bramante built a great rectilinear

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. In 1921 a fire broke out inside the sanctuary of the

Basilica of Loreto The Basilica della Santa Casa ( en, Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pi ...

and destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of Loreto. The statue was commissioned by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

in 1922. It was carved from cedars of Lebanon from the Vatican Gardens. The sculpture, designed by Enrico Quattrini and painted by Leopoldo Celani, is still one of the most venerated today in the Basilica of Loreto, in the Marche region. Since the end of 2014, the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

and the Directorate of Technical Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State have been running the project of restoration and conservation of various stone artifacts in the gardens. The goal of the project has been to prevent the deterioration of the objects of art-historical interest. In October 2017 the professionals involved in the restoration conducted a study to consider, from a scientific point of view, modern methods and eco-sustainable techniques in application to the conservation of the artifacts over time. After a careful study, they opted for non-toxic and environmentally friendly products, such as

oregano Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Oregano is a woody perennial ...

(Origanum vulgare) and

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus '' Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

(Thymus vulgaris), along with other plant protection products used individually or combined. Today's Vatican Gardens are spread over nearly , they contain a variety of medieval fortifications, buildings and monuments from the 9th century to the present day, set among vibrant flower beds and topiary, green lawns and a patch of forest. There are a variety of fountains cooling the gardens, sculptures, an artificial

grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high t ...

devoted to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, ...

, and an

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

tree donated by the

government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

. Both the Vatican and Castel Gandalfo gardens became open to the general public in 2014. In 2019, Rafael Tornini, head of the Garden and Environment Service of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

, announced the gardens had been transitioning to

organic lawn management Organic lawn management or organic land care or organic landscaping is the practice of establishing and caring for an athletic turf field or garden lawn and landscape using organic horticulture, without the use of manufactured inputs such as synt ...

since 2017.

Patroness of the Gardens

designated

Saint Therese of Lisieux In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

''The Little Flower'' as the official Patroness of the gardens on 17 May 1927, according to her the title as "''Sacred Keeper of the Gardens''" and within the same year, a small chapel dedicated to her was built within the gardens near the Leonine walls.

List of Marian images enshrined

The following are venerated images of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

enshrined at the Vatican Gardens:

Gallery

File:Ogrod papieski.jpg, Part of the Vatican Gardens File:Fountain of the Eagle, Vatican gardens, Rome.JPG, The Fountain of the Eagle "''Fontana dell'Aquilone''" in the Vatican Gardens File:Khatchkar Vatican Gardens 2011-07-05.jpg, Armenian cross monument ( Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens File:Vatican Gardens 2.jpg, ''Vatican Gardens'' File:Vatican Gardens 4.jpg, ''Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State'' File:Vatican Gardens 6.jpg, ''Vatican Gardens''

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Ricci, Corrado. ''"Vatican: Its History Its Treasures"'' Contributor Ernesto Begni.

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

2003 Published by Kessinger Publishing, , *

Sources

^{The initial version is based upon the article :it:Giardini Vaticani of the Italian language

Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 8 ...
edition of Wikipedia. Data concerning the measures of lengths were taken from the article :de:Vatikanische Gärten of the German language edition of Wikipedia.}

External links

*
The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome
a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the gardens (pp. 155–164) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardens Of Vatican City Geography of Vatican City Parks in Vatican City