Specola Guestbook | September 16, 1934: Pope Pius XI
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is not technically from the guest book. It is from a separate parchment reserved for Popes on their first official visit to the Specola. This tradition was begun when the Vatican Observatory was relocated from within Vatican City out to the Pontifical summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, about 25 km outside of Rome. On September 16, 1934, Pope Pius XI made a visit. Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (1857-1939) was elected Pope in 1922 and took the name Pius. Prior to his elevation to the Papacy, he was the cardinal archbishop of Milan. In 1929, he and the Italian leader Benito Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty, in which the nation of Italy formally recognized the Vatican as an independent sovereignty. As part of this act, … Continue reading →