Vatican City

Vatican City (Vatican)
Standing in the Eternal City of Rome, the Vatican is the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
Location	Rome
Points of interest	San Pietro Cathedral San Pietro Plaza Palazzo Spada
Affiliation	Catholic Church Vatican Papal State Vatican Ministry of Doctrine Department of Inquisition Vatican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section

Vatican City, commonly referred to as the Vatican (Latin: Vaticanus), is the religious and political headquarters of the Vatican Papal State—the sovereign state of the Catholic Church. Located atop Vatican Hill on the western side of the River Tiber in Rome, the modern complex was constructed on the site of the original Vatican City, the predecessor state of the Vatican Domain, after the Armageddon of 2124 AD. Prior to the apocalyptic war of the early 22nd century AD, the ancient Vatican was an independent enclave surrounded by the city of Rome, which was the capital of the Italian Republic at the time. After the collapse of the old world, Rome and the Vatican were reunited under the jurisdiction of the Church.

The Vatican has served as the headquarters of the modern Holy See for centuries; it is the official residence and workplace of several high-ranking members of the clergy, such as the College of Cardinals and the Pope—the leader of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican Domain. In addition to the religious and political government of the Church and State, the Vatican also serves as the headquarters of various government branches, including the Ministry of Holy Affairs and its covert subdivision, the Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section ("AX").

Due to its symbolic significance to both the Church and the human international community, the Vatican is a high-risk target for acts of terrorism. In the 31st century AD, there have been multiple attempts to destroy the Vatican through sabotage or terrorist attacks. Although the attacks were executed by the Fleurs Du Mal and the Neue Vatican, it was the Rosencreutz Orden that ultimately manipulated both terrorist groups into attacking the Vatican. The AX prevented the Rosencreutz's agenda from succeeding on both accounts, saving Rome and the Vatican in the process.

Description

The layout of the Vatican headquarters in Rome.

Vatican City is a large, rectangular complex that consists of a main building and a plaza in the center, with numerous smaller buildings surrounding them. The entire area of the Vatican is surrounded by an artificial moat. Several bridges connect the Vatican “island” in all four directions to the rest of Rome. The main bridge is located facing in the direction of the Castle of San Angelo; from the bridge a main road leads directly to the plaza and the central building.

The San Pietro Cathedral is the central building in the Vatican complex, the official cathedra of the Catholic Church, and the primary residence of the Pope—the bishop of Rome and Vatican chief of state. Built on the site of the St. Peter's Basilica and named in honor of Saint Peter, the new structure is a massive half dome-shaped building, crowned by four towering pillars and a giant Latin cross in the center. The building itself serves multiple purposes, functioning as a palace, church, government headquarters, and center for intelligence.

As the principal workplace of the Pope, the cathedral houses the Pope's throne room in the center of its infrastructure. Much like the rest of the building’s interior, the throne room is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The throne room can be used for various purposes, ranging from audiences with the Pope and the celebration of Combined Mass, to the day-to-day running of government administration. In matters of national security, it can also double as a war room and intelligence management center.

The Papal throne room, located in the center of San Pietro Cathedral.

The San Pietro Plaza is a massive plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Its design is a near identical duplicate of the original St. Peter’s Square, from the floor plan to the colonnades which embrace visitors “in the maternal arms of Mother Church.” It also retained certain notable features that were part of the original plaza, including the Egyptian obelisk and two fountains on opposite sides of the central obelisk. By the mid-30th century AD, the old obelisk was toppled by an earthquake in Rome. In 3060 AD, a new obelisk was placed in the center of the square.

In addition to San Pietro Cathedral, Vatican City contains many buildings that are used as offices by high-ranking members of the clergy, such as cardinals, and various departments in the Vatican government. The Palazzo Spada, the Ministry of Holy Affairs and AX base of operations, is located in the Vatican complex.

Security

Vatican City is protected by a security force of black-robed guards known as the Guardia Romana, who wield ceremonial halberds while on duty, though they also have access to firearms and other modern weaponry. In addition to their weapons, the guards have access to armored vehicles. They are stationed in and around the Vatican, especially at the entrance checkpoints. Security is strictly enforced by the guards; only authorized personnel are permitted to enter the Vatican. Every member of the Vatican staff must present his or her identification card to the guard on duty in order to confirm their identity.

History

Built over the second St. Peter's Basilica, the San Pietro Cathedral stands in the heart of Vatican City as the Pope's Cathedra.

In the centuries that followed the Dark Ages, Vatican City continued to serve the leaders of the Catholic Church—by now a major political and military power in the world—well into the mid-31st century AD. The Vatican stood as the epicenter of human civilization, the keystone of the Christian faith, and one of the most high-risk target sites for acts of terrorism.

During the cold war between the Holy See and the New Human Empire, the Albion airship Tristan was hijacked by Alfred, a Methuselah terrorist with ties to the Fleur du Mal and the Rosencreutz Orden. His goal was to take the ‘’Tristan’’ to Rome where he would then crash the vessel directly into the Vatican. Though reluctant to resort to the use of military force as a form of self-defense, Pope Alessandro XVIII authorized Cardinal Francesco di Medici to launch a thrust bomb at the Tristan. Medici’s strategy was ultimately thwarted by the machinations of his half-sister, Cardinal Caterina Sforza, whose AX agent—the Crusnik Abel Nightroad—successfully regained control of the airship before it could be used as a weapon against the Vatican.

The Vatican, along with the entire city of Rome, was targeted again a short while after the incident with the Tristan. Gyula Kadar, the count of István, attempted to destroy the headquarters of the Church by using a weaponized satellite known as the Star of Sorrow. As with the hijacking of the Tristan, the Rosencreutz Orden was involved in the plot to use the satellite’s weapons system against the Vatican. However, without the count’s knowledge, they reprogrammed the satellite’s computer system to target Rome and Byzantium, the capitals of the Holy See and the Empire, respectively. Once again, the AX agent Abel Nightroad prevented the Rosencreutz’ from carrying out their act of terrorism—this time by initiating the Star of Sorrow’s self-destruct mechanism with his clearance codes as a former officer of the United Nations. Afterward, he returned to the Vatican with Esther Blanchett, a novice nun and newest member of the AX.

Read More

• Vatican City
• Rome

Appearances

Novels

• Trinity Blood: Rage Against the Moons - Volume 1: From the Empire (First appearance)
• Trinity Blood: Rage Against the Moons - Volume 2: Silent Noise (First identified as Vatican City)

Anime

• Trinity Blood Episode 1: Flight Night
• Trinity Blood Episode 5: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
• Trinity Blood Episode 6: Sword Dancer
• Trinity Blood Episode 8: Silent Noise
• Trinity Blood Episode 9: Overcount I. The Belfry of Downfall
• Trinity Blood Episode 10: Overcount II. Lucifer's Choice
• Trinity Blood Episode 11: From the Empire
• Trinity Blood Episode 20: The Throne of Roses I. Kingdom of the North
• Trinity Blood Episode 23: The Crown of Thorns I. City in the Mist