Palace of the Holy Office

This article is about the palace in Rome. For the one in Birgu, Malta, see Inquisitor's Palace.

The Palace of the Holy Office (Italian: Palazzo del Santo Uffizio) is a building in Rome which is an extraterritorial property of Holy See. It houses the Holy Office of the Roman Catholic Church.

Palace of the Holy Office
Palazzo del Santo Uffizio
Façade of the Palace of the Holy Office
Former names	Palazzo Pucci
General information
Status	Intact
Type	Palace
Location	Rome, Italy
Coordinates	41°54′4″N 12°27′22″E
Current tenants	Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Construction started	c. 1514
Completed	1524–25
Renovated	1566–67 and 1921–25
Client	Lorenzo Cardinal Pucci
Owner	Holy See
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Giuliano Leni Pietro Roselli Michelangelo
Renovating team
Architect(s)	Pirro Ligorio Giovanni Sallustio Peruzzi Pietro Guidi

The palace is situated south of Saint Peter's Basilica near the Petrine Gate to Vatican City. The building lies outside the confines of Vatican City at the south-eastern corner of the city-state. It is one of the properties of the Holy See in Italy regulated by the 1929 Lateran Treaty signed with the Kingdom of Italy. As such, it has extraterritorial status.

The palace was first built after 1514 for Lorenzo Cardinal Pucci, and it was called Palazzo Pucci. Its façade was rebuilt in 1524–1525 by the architects Giuliano Leni, Pietro Roselli and even Michelangelo. When Pucci died in 1531, the building was still not fully completed.^[1]

In 1566–1567, the palace was purchased by Pope Pius V for 9000 scudi, and it was converted into the seat of the Holy Office. Renovation works were undertaken by Pirro Ligorio and Giovanni Sallustio Peruzzi. A complete renovation of the building was made by Pietro Guidi between 1921 and 1925.^[1]

It is where Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger formerly worked as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.^[2]

See also

• Index of Vatican City-related articles

References

1. Barbolla, Manuela; Firpo, Massimo; Marino, Mario; Petaccia, Anna Grazia; Ponziani, Daniel (3 January 2016). Rari e preziosi. Documenti dell'età moderna e contemporanea dall'archivio del Sant'Uffizio: Catalogo mostra a Roma, Museo Centrale del Risorgimento. Gangemi Editore spa. pp. 86–87. ISBN 9788849290219.
2. Jacobson Schutte, Anne (May 1999). "Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio: The Opening of the Roman Inquisition's Central Archive". American Historical Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.