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Where the Vatican Goes to Hide
Vatican City

Where the Vatican Goes to Hide

Aug 7, 2026 15 min read

From Castel Gandolfo’s Private Avenues to the Gardens Behind St Peter’s For years, the Vatican existed in my mind as an extension of Rome: St Peter’s Square, the basilica and the long route through the Vatican Museums, culminating in the Sistine Chapel. The Gallery of Maps — spectacular enough to make it easy to forget how little of the Vatican l