Vatican Apostolic Archive (Rome)

 library, ancient, place with historical importance, archives institution

 Upload a photo

The Vatican Apostolic Archive (Latin: Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum; Italian: Archivio Apostolico Vaticano), known until October 2019 as the Vatican Secret Archive, is the central repository in the Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See.

The Archivio Apostolico Vaticano pursues it specific activity aimed at preserving and enhancing the deeds and documents related to the government of the Universal Church. It primarily serves the Roman Pontiff and the Holy See and secondly offers its services to scholars of all faiths from all nations.

The present name, "Vatican Apostolic Archives", dates back to when this institution was founded on the initiative of Paul V. From the mid-17th century, however, the title "Vatican Secret Archives" (sometimes also known as the "Vatican Apostolic Secret Archives”) was commonly used, stressing the particular nature of this collection of documents, which consists of the concentration in one place of several archives produced by as many curial offices.

In the 17th century, under the orders of Pope Paul V, the Secret Archive was separated from the Vatican Library, where scholars had some very limited access, and remained closed to outsiders until the late 19th century, when Pope Leo XIII opened the archive to researchers, more than a thousand of whom now examine some of its documents each year.

The Vatican Apostolic Archive has been estimated to contain 85 kilometers (53 mi) of shelving, with 35,000 volumes in the selective catalogue alone.

Complete archives of letters written by the popes, known as the papal registers, are available beginning with the papacy of Pope Innocent III (1198–1216). A few registers of earlier popes also survive, including Pope John VIII (872–882) and Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085). There is little other documentation of the papacy before the 13th century.

www.archivioapostolicovaticano.va/content/aav/en/l-arch...