The Rome Index
Rome & the Papacy
How the Catholic Church shaped the city — physically, politically and artistically.
Why Rome
Early Christian tradition holds that St Peter was martyred in Rome, making the city the logical seat of the church he led. St Peter's Basilica is built, after several iterations, over the site believed to be his tomb.
The Papal States
For over a thousand years the popes ruled central Italy as a secular as well as spiritual power — the Vatican Museums and Castel Sant'Angelo both reflect this dual role, as fortresses and art collections simultaneously.
Vatican City today
The world's smallest independent state, established by the 1929 Lateran Treaty. Its own currency, post office, newspaper and radio station make it genuinely sovereign — and its art collections are technically outside Italian jurisdiction.
The conclave process, briefly
When a pope dies or resigns, the College of Cardinals convenes in conclave (literally 'with a key,' reflecting the historical practice of locking them in) inside the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor — the black or white smoke visible from St Peter's Square, produced by burning the ballots, signals whether a decision has been reached.
The papacy's physical footprint in Rome
Beyond Vatican City itself, the papacy's historical presence is written across Rome in the four major papal basilicas (St Peter's, St John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Paolo fuori le Mura), each technically extraterritorial Vatican property despite standing outside Vatican City's actual walls — a detail reflecting centuries of complex church-state relations.
