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Rome has unveiled dozens of major infrastructural projects to be carried out ahead of the Vatican's Jubilee Year 2025 when millions of pilgrims are set to arrive in the Italian capital. The city's mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who is also Italy's extraordinary commissioner for the Jubilee, presented the first phase of the plans to Pope Francis during a...

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Right in the middle of Rome, within the Vatican City rises the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. Its impressive dome stands out over all the other roofs of the Eternal City, while the Vatican Museums know that what they hold inside goes beyond the value of the Sistine Chapel alone.  The beating heart of Catholicism,...

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The majestic silver fir that had been destined to become the Vatican's Christmas tree in St Peter's Square this year has been spared from the chop after a last-minute intervention by environmental activists. The news brings an end to a long-running dispute over the felling of the tree - which was to be a gift to Pope Francis from the mountain villa...

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In Italy there is the Vatican State that with its 44 hectares is the smallest in the world both in terms of territorial extension and number of inhabitants. It is an enclave in the territory of the Italian Republic that is inserted in the urban fabric of Rome. The city state was created in 1929 with the Pacts Lateranensi. Here you can find out what...

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I traveled to Rome with my mother, Cav. Gilda Rorro Baldassari, and a special delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), assembled by Judge Basil Russo. We traveled to Italy in May 2022 to foster relationships with leaders of the Republic of Italy and the Vatican. We met with the Ministry of Forei...

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Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli inaugurated a two-week light show on the façade of St Peter's Basilica, telling the story of the first pope, at the Vatican on Sunday night. The eight-minute video charting the life of the apostle will light up St Peter's each night until 16 October - from 21.00 to 23.00 - with a projection every 15 minutes. Cardinal Ma...

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The Vatican Museums constitute, without a doubt, one of the most exceptional (and largest) museum collections on the entire Planet, ranging from Egyptian artifacts to contemporary art, not to mention some of the most unforgettable and famous works of art in all of history, such as the Sistine Chapel frescoed by Michelangelo, a true testament to the...

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Calling all young men: The world’s smallest army charged with “protecting and serving” the Pope and the Holy See wants you.  Watching over the Pontiff and the Vatican for over 500 years, the Swiss Guard is the smallest army of the smallest city-state in the world.  In 2018, Pope Francis announced that the Swiss Guards would expand from 110 to 135 m...

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Visits to the dome of St Peter’s are possible every day from 08.00 to 18.00, during April to September, and from 8.00 to 17.00, during October to March. The cupola was designed by Michelangelo who worked on the basilica's construction beginning in 1547. On Michelangelo's death in 1564, his pupil Giacomo Della Porta took over the direction of the wo...

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Spring has sprung in the Eternal City, and along with the warm Mediterranean sunshine comes oppor-tunities to experience Italy like never before. In recent weeks restrictions on travel for international tourists have eased and there is a palpable excitement among the Italian-American community here in America. Flights are being booked and daydreams...

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