Vatican City Archives and Libraries

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Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

Access to the Vatican Apostolic Library is not available to the general populace: The Library is open to:

  • researchers and scholars with appropriate qualifications and/or relevant scientific publications;
  • teachers and researchers at Universities and other institutes of Higher Education;
  • graduate students (laureati) who are pursuing research for a doctoral dissertation;
  • in exceptional cases, undergraduate students who can demonstrate that they need to consult material which is available only at the Vatican Library.
  • it is not open to High School students, nor, as a rule, to undergraduate University students.[1]

In March 2014, the Vatican Library began an initial four-year project of digitizing its collection of manuscripts, to be made available online.

Museums[edit | edit source]

Google listing of museums in Vatican City

Record Offices[edit | edit source]

“Registry and Notary Office keeps a record of births, marriages, deaths, citizenship and residence. It also issues and archives public and private documents.” Vatican City Administrations and Central Offices
Direct genealogical queries to:

Registry and Notary Office
Ufficio Legale
Governatorato della Città del Vaticano
00120 Citta del Vaticano

Telephone:(39 6) 6982


References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Admission Criteria", Vatican Apostolic Library, https://www.vaticanlibrary.va/en/admission-in-bav/admission-criteria.html, accessed 2 February 2023.