Transport in Vatican City

Benito Mussolini demolished a strip of medieval housing to create the Via della Conciliazione leading into St. Peter's Square.

The transportation system in Vatican City, a country 1.05 km long and 0.85 km wide,[1] is a small transportation system with no airports or highways. There is no public transport in the country. A heliport and a short railway is used for special occasions only. Most visitors will walk from a nearby Italian bus or train stop, or car parking. Given an average walking speed of 3.6 km/h,[2] Vatican City can be crossed in 20 minutes or less. Thus, much of the infrastructure in the Vatican consists of St. Peter's Square itself, hallways and aisles in the basilica and surrounding buildings, and walkways behind and between the buildings.[1] The Vatican City Heliport is in the western corner of the city-state that is used for officials of the Holy See and official visitors.[3]

Air transport

Vatican City heliport

Vatican City is served by Vatican City Heliport, sometimes used by official visitors. It does not have a public airport and visitors may use the two airports of Rome: Ciampino and Fiumicino.

Railway

There is a short 852 meter 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) railway that connects to surrounding Italy's network at the Saint Peter's station in the capital of Rome. Vatican City railway station was designed by architect Giuseppe Momo and was constructed during the reign of Pope Pius XI after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties and opened in 1933. The railway was originally planned to transport pilgrims, as was intended during the reign of Pius XI, but has only been rarely used to transport passengers. Pope John XXIII was the first to make use of the railway, and Pope John Paul II was known to have used it as well very rarely. The railway is mainly used only to transport freight. Rome Metro line A passes the country at Ottaviano and Cipro-Musei Vaticani metro stations. Both stops are a ten-minute walk away from the city-state.[4]

Road vehicles

Pope John Paul II in a Popemobile in the Vatican City State, with Vatican registration SCV 1

Vehicle registration plates of official road vehicles registered in Vatican City use the prefix SCV (standing for State of the City of Vatican) followed by a series of digits while vehicle registration plates of residential road vehicles registered in Vatican City use the prefix CV followed by a series of digits. The international identification plate/sticker is V. The Pope's car carries the registration SCV 1 in red lettering. As there is more than one vehicle used to transport the Pope, multiple registered vehicles in Vatican City use the SCV 1 registration plate.

Vehicle fleet

In September 2012, the Pope received two electric Kangoo Maxi ZE. One is planned to stay at the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, and the second one is to be used by the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City.[5]

See also: Popemobile

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Documentation
  2. ↑ Walking speed
  3. ↑ Vatican City Tiscali retrieved November 27, 2006
  4. ↑ Vatican City State Railway Railways of the World retrieved August 8, 2006
  5. ↑ Pope receives pair of electric cars from maker Renault

Coordinates: 41°54′3″N 12°27′4″E / 41.90083°N 12.45111°E / 41.90083; 12.45111

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