Passetto

• Address: Via di Porta Angelica, 63, Vatican City

The word "Passetto" is translated from Italian as "a small corridor". This is the name of the secret passage, leading from the Vatican - from the Tower of Mascherino, located a few dozen meters from the Vatican Palace - to the Castle of St. Angela in the Roman Borgo district (therefore it is also called Passetto di Borgo and Corridor Borgo). The name "small" to this secret passageway is applicable very conditionally - its length is 800 m! However, in this case, "small" rather means "imperceptible" - Passetto, who is in the fortress wall, is completely invisible from the outside.

A bit of history

The corridor inside the Leon's Wall was built in 1277 at the direction of Pope Nicholas III - at least, according to the official version. According to the unofficial - it was erected under John XXIII, which went down in history as Antipapa (in this case, the age of the corridor is about 130 years less).

With the scandalous Alexander VI, in the world bore the name of Rodrigo Borgia, already in the XV century, Passetto was restored. However, in 1494, Pope Alexander VI had to flee in a hurry to escape this secret corridor during the attack on Rome of the French troops, so that the restoration of the corridor was very useful. In 1523, the corridor had to be used already by Pope Clement VII, in the world of Giulio de Medici, during an attack of troops under the authority of Emperor Charles V.

Passetto today

Today, Passetto is open for excursion groups or solitary tourists - but only with the help of a guide. The keys to the "small corridor" are the Swiss Guards.

As all the attractions of the Vatican are nearby, we also recommend visiting the Vatican Apostolic Library and Pinakothek , the famous Pio-Clementino Museum, the Chiaramonti Museum , the historical and Egyptian museums, and one of the most popular tourist destinations - the Pine cone courtyard , directly in front of the Belvedere Palace .