Papal apartments

The Pope's window from which he delivers the Angelus.

The papal apartments is the non-official designation for the collection of apartments, which are private, state, and religious, that wrap around a courtyard (the Courtyard of Sixtus V, Cortile di Sisto V)[1] on two sides of the third (top) floor[2] of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.[3][4]

Since the 17th century, the papal apartments have been the official residence of the pope in his religious capacity (as supreme pontiff). Prior to 1870, the pope's official residence in his temporal capacity (as sovereign of the Papal States) was the Quirinal Palace, which is now the official residence of the president of the Italian Republic. The papal apartments are referred to in Italian by several terms, including appartamento nobile and appartamento pontificio.[1]

  1. ^ a b Levillain, Philippe, ed. (June 2002). The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0415937528.
  2. ^ "Makeover for papal apartment". Catholic World News. 28 September 2005. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007.
  3. ^ Willey, David (13 May 2005). "Pope Benedict's creature comforts". BBC News.
  4. ^ Thavis, John (6 January 2006). "No place like home: Papal apartment gets extreme makeover". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on January 10, 2006.