What was on the land before the Vatican?
What was on the land before the Vatican? Popes traditionally held power over regional territories known as the Papal States until 1870, when the unified Italian government claimed virtually all of the land outside of the city walls.
Where did the pope live before the Vatican was built?
Popes did not live at the Vatican until the 14th century. Peter's Basilica, popes lived principally at the Lateran Palace across Rome. They even left the city altogether in 1309 when the papal court moved to Avignon, France, after King Philip IV arranged for a French cardinal to be elected pope.
Why is there Egyptian stuff in the Vatican?
Pope Gregory was driven by a passion for learning. He ordered that all Egyptian and “Egyptianized” artifacts in the Pontifical states (and Roman antique markets, private villa collections etc.) be gathered together in a new museum.
Who is buried beneath the Vatican?
Architects feared they might disturb the foundations on which rests the world's largest church. But the workmen, with careful hands, pushed forward finally to the area where, according to a basic tenet of the Catholic Church, the bones of St. Peter were buried about A.D. 66.