Vatican City Heliport Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae Eliporto di Città del Vaticano | |||||||||||
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 Daytime view of Vatican City Heliport, looking west | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | State of Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Serves | Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Location | Vatican Gardens, Vatican City | ||||||||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01:00) | ||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+02:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 75 m / 246 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°54′07″N12°26′47″E / 41.9020°N 12.4465°E /41.9020; 12.4465 | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 Map showing heliport in Vatican City | |||||||||||
  Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae Location on a map of Vatican City | |||||||||||
| Helipads | |||||||||||
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Vatican City Heliport (Latin:Portus helicopterorum Civitatis Vaticanae,Italian:Eliporto di Città del Vaticano) consists of a 25 × 17 m (82 × 56 ft) rectangular concrete landing area linked with a circular parking area.[1] It is used for short journeys from or toVatican City by thepope and visitingheads of state.
Theheliport is at 75 m (246 ft) above sea level, in the French-style portion of theVatican Gardens, and is referred to also as ahelipad.[2][3][4][5] It is situated in the westernmostbastion of theLeonine Wall, which marks thewesternmost point of Vatican City State.
It was constructed in 1976 underPope Paul VI (1963–1978), facilitating transfers between Vatican City and the summerpapal residence atCastel Gandolfo for occasions such as the regular Wednesdaygeneral audience, when travel by car could take a couple of hours each way and would cause inconvenience to other road users.
In 1978,Pope John Paul II had a bronze statue representingOur Lady of Częstochowa placed nearby.
Flights are conducted only invisual meteorological conditions byvisual flight rules.
Worldwide publicity was given to the heliport on the afternoon of 28 February 2013, whenPope Benedict XVI departed Vatican City forCastel Gandolfo mere hours beforehis resignation took effect.[6][7]
Since 2015, the heliport also serves—in urgent cases—theBambino Gesù Hospital totransport patients, personnel, and medical equipment.[8]
The helicopter used for the pope is anAgustaWestland AW139 of theItalian Air Force.
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