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Glite Dictionary
Vatican Palace

Vatican Palace

5.3
The building in Vatican City where the Pope lives and works
  • noun
translation icon : Palacio Vaticano
  • The Vatican Palace is known for its stunning architecture and beautiful artworks that attract millions of visitors each year.

Examples

  • Then we saw the line of people waiting to gain free entry to the museum, snaking far around the walls of the Vatican Palace, so we struck that off our list.

    Academic text (2015)

  • For years Rubens had known the frescoes that Raphael painted in the papal apartments in the Vatican Palace, but only in engravings.

  • As the official residence of the Pope, the Vatican Palace plays a crucial role in the administration of the Roman Catholic Church.

  • Visitors can explore the rich history of the Vatican Palace, including the famous Sistine Chapel and the papal apartments.

Synonyms

Apostolic Palace
vsVatican Palace
1 8.7

The official home of the Pope in Vatican City where he lives and works

highlights the site as the church's main administrative center

Surface Forms

Vatican Palace singular
Vatican Palaces plural

Morphology

Vatican + palace

The meaning 'the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City' is directly and transparently inferable from combining 'Vatican' (the city-state/religious center) with 'palace' (a large official house), since it denotes a palace belonging to or located in the Vatican. This simple noun–noun compositional pattern is common across languages and thus a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Vatican Palace names the Pope's official home in Vatican City: the word palace means a big, grand house for a leader, and Vatican points to the place where the Pope lives. So the name gives a clear image of the Pope's grand house that is also the 'center of church work'.