VATICAN CITY

Hokitika Guardian, 10 May 1930, Page 8

VATICAN CITY

CO.MLETE NEW QUARTERS

FLATS FOR OFFICIALS*

Mr E. B, F. Wareing, Rome corres pendent oi’ the “Daily Telegraph," con l.ri .utes the following article aoout tli miildiMgs of Vatican City:— A thousand workmen, who all seem imbued with the same energy as on notices in the neighbouring State oi Italy, are engaged in completely chang ing the appearance of a great part oi the Vatican City. It is now a year since the Lateral) Pact was signed, ami 1 asked the Vatican authorities to lc me see on the spot what progress had been made with the far-reaching city planning scheme to which it led in tin early summer. My request was fulfilled with great celerity and with every conr tesy. T have to thank, in particular, two of the chief members of the City planning Commission, Commondator Morno and Castclli, who personally ac companied me. hi a general way, it may be said tfin' the necessity of constructing a rail way station, a wirloloss station, and a Court of Justice led the Pope to tak’ the far-sighted decisio nto make a com plete new quarter of the city. The other main buildings in this are the Governor’s palace—a huge edifice. which is practically completed, having been originally intended for a seminary; the new picture gallery, which wil not he finished for about eighteen month ; the power-station ; the Court of T ii«tiee; the new mosaic factory; and several large buildings, which will serve as blocks of flats for Vatican fun•’onaries and their families. These all lie to the west and southwest of St. Peter’s, and to some extenl encroach upon the Pope’s private gulden. At the .same time, the northern corner of the city is also being transformed. New buildings are rising, some rvf which are already completed. The “Osservatore Romano” for instance, has already installed itself in its onnrWs, whilst warehouses and blocks “f flats are being created on the ground between it and the Belvedere Square*/ and the nuns who keep the tapestry in nrdor and reweave portions which need repair fthe Sisters of the Tapestry they are called) are to find a new home nl most next door to the parish church of the Vatican. This is the church of St. Anna .near the entrance in the Via Porta Angelica, the former, parish eh nr di of St. Martha, on the other side, having been demolished. The nesfal and telegraph offices are also to he located in this portion of the city.

NEW STREETS,

Not only new buildings, but now streets .ire being constructed, and a fresh entrance—apart from the one where the'railway will pass through a ' reach in the wall—wjill make thr Mus n um and picture trail cry much more accessible. 'This involves constructing a short tunnel piercing the Leonine wal on the northern confine of the State. Visitors will thus be spared the pres-, ent c'rcuitous route which involves passing all round St. Peter’s before tlic museum is reached. They will in future walk up a wide semi-circular ramp, which will lead directly on to the left to the museum and on the right to the picture gallery. From this point there is a beautiful view of the cupola from its north-western aspect. Tt is not ob scured in any way here, as it is on the east, by the facade of St. Peter’s. A second entrance, for official visitors, is in project, but will not be made at present. This would pass—also by means of a short tunnel—through the wall of Pius IV.. and lead from the Pindel Risorgimento along a new road through the Belvedere fields which are to be planted with trees direct to the Vatican Palace. This road ; s to house the -Vatican garages.

THE PAPAL RAILWAY STATION.

Constructing the station has given more trouble than was expected. Tlio soil has proved soft and treacherous, and water has been encountered unexpectedly, especially at the extreme end, where for want of space a tunnel bad to be bored in order to accommodate the shunting sidings. A strong support ing wall has had to be built on one side of the line, though nothing exists on the other side to intercept the sudden magnificent glimpse of St. Peters’s dome which will offer itself as the train enters the tiny station.

I There ha.s been much misconception j eboutlthe station. It will be little used and is nm>e symbolic than serviceable. | now rather misleadingly called San . Pietro, a quarter of a mile away, across j a valley— with a single-line railway j running from the principal station in j Rome to Viterbo, along which five trains pass daily in each direction. At I Trastevere Staton, two miles away, I '■here is a junction with the main lines i All supplies for the Vatican arrive at Pietro and are then loaded on lorries. This system will be continued. Although the Pope possesses a train of three coaches, there is no engine, and there will be no attempt to run a regular service either for passengers or for goods. For State visits or for journeys made by the Pope, the Italian I State Railways will co-operate, and I their engines will convey the trains j across the viaduct, which will make | the necessary connexion. The station I building is constructed mainly with a i view to ceremonial receptions, and will , i splendid wading-rooms for j tl'e T>pnal court, the corps, and the prelates of the Vatican. It will I be used perhaps three or four times a

POWERFUL WIRELESS. W

The wireless station is more 1 advanced and should he'finished in'the summer. The technical details are not yet available, but it will probably have an output of some 80 k.w., and maintain a short wave as well as a longwave service. Other bulidings, such as the Court of Justice, and the new moaic factory, are only just beginning t obe constructed, but. in about two years’ time the Vatican City will be completely transformed by workmen, who outnumbei its inhabitants in the ratio of two V. one, into a State of 109 aches', which will contain most of the institutions associated with sovereign and independent existence.

With one exception; there is no prison.. The solitary prisoner, an' offer-tory-box thief, is detained in a room at the gendarmerie headqarters. 1 He is looking forward, 1 hear, with great distaste to being released when his sentence expires, and inspired by. the energy which he sees displayed all round him he is anxiously enquiring whether it would not be possible to find employment on the spot if he promises to turn over a new leaf.