Apostolic Palace

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Image:Watykan Plac sw Piora kolumnada Berniniego.JPG The Apostolic Palace, also called the Papal Palace or the Palace of the Vatican, is the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.

The palace is a complex of buildings, comprising the Papal Apartment, the Catholic Church's government offices, a handful of chapels, the Vatican Museum and the Vatican library. In all there are over 1,000 rooms with the most famous including the Sistine Chapel and its renowned ceiling frescoes painted by Michelangelo (restored between 1980-1990) and Raphael's Rooms.

The other papal residences are at the Lateran Palace and the Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.

Before 1871, the Quirinal Palace was the Pope's official residence. After the final overthrow of the Papal States in 1870, the King of Italy confiscated that palace in 1871, making it the king's official residence; after the abolition of the Italian monarchy in 1946, it became the President of the Italian Republic's residence.

[edit] See also

Papal rituals, symbols & ceremonial <td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 1px" rowspan="2"> Image:Emblem of the Papacy.svg </td>
Apostolic Palace • Camauro • Coat of Arms • Conclave • Coronation • Fanon • Holy See • Inauguration • Mitre • Mozzetta • Pallium • Popemobile • Regalia & Insignia • Ring of the Fisherman • St. John Lateran • St. Peter's Basilica • St. Peter's Square • Sedia gestatoria • Sistine Chapel • Tiara • Vatican City