{"id":8606,"date":"2016-02-24T11:57:40","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T10:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=8606"},"modified":"2025-05-21T10:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T09:26:08","slug":"catholic-church-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/art-culture\/catholic-church-real-estate","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Church Real Estate: 7 Surprising Papal Properties"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s common knowledge\u00a0that the Catholic Church\u00a0owns\u00a0some of the most ornate and impressive churches in the world, but have you ever wondered what other properties they have in their portfolio? <\/span><\/p>\n

The Holy See is the organization that owns the Vatican<\/a>, i.e. the smallest independent city-state in the world. They print their own passports, have their own media, and even maintain their own mail service, all for a population numbering\u00a0no more than 1,000 people. <\/span>But the nation’s tiny size doesn’t hold it back from making the occasional territorial acquisition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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You know all about the Vatican Museum -but have you heard of the Vatican Gardens? This massive territory covers around 57 acres of land within the Vatican City. Photo credit: Michal H\u00e1jek<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Despite what the conspiracy theorists might say, the Holy See does not have a shadowy hand in property markets the world over but it does actually own more papal properties outside of the Vatican City walls than within them. Indeed, some of the Catholic Church’s wealth comes from its highly diversified investments. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their property portfolio includes opulent palaces, London apartment blocks, improbable relics, an archive stuffed full of some of the most important documents ever written, and one very powerful telescope. Here is a list of our favorite papal properties that you’ve probably never heard of.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yes, the Vatican even has its own postal system! Photo credit: Filip Mishevski<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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