Vatican exhibit of carriages and cars chronicles papal transport

Whether they rode in litters carried by men in livery, in ornate horse-drawn carriages, or later in cars, popes have always travelled in style.    

Papal vehicles from 1825 to the present day are now on display at a new, updated exhibition at the Vatican Museums that spans nearly two centuries of papal travel.    

The most extravagant on display is the Berlina di Gran Gala, built in 1826 for Pope Leo XII. It is essentially a mobile throne-room made of wood with inlays painted in gold leaf.    

As ornate was it was, apparently it was not ornate enough for Pope Gregory XVI, who in 1841 added gold-coloured angels and statues of two children holding up a tiara and keys -- symbols of papal power.    

It was pulled through the streets of 19th century Rome by six horses, each bearing riders dressed in fine livery with papal stems stitched on by golden thread.    

During the 1920s, cars such as the Bianchi Tipo 15, Bianchi Tipo 20, the Fiat 525, the Graham Paige 837, the Citroen C6 Lictoria Sex and the Mercedes 460 Nurburg limousine entered the Vatican for use by popes.    

Horse-drawn carriages officially became past history in 1931 when the tiny city-state started its own registry of motor vehicles with the license plate SCV.        

The first "popemobile," effectively a white jeep-style vehicle, burst on the scene when Pope Paul VI used one in 1975 so that he could be easily seen by crowds of people who came to Rome for the jubilee year.   

 The "popemobile" became a household word during the papacy of John Paul II, who used them to move through oceanic crowds on his world travels.    

One of the new additions to the exhibition is the white Fiat 1107 Nuova Campagnola 1980, which is the open off-road vehicle John Paul, was riding in on May 13, 1981 when he was shot and nearly killed by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca. 


REUTERS