Department of Utilities
THE HISTORY OF ELECTRIC POWER IN VATICAN CITY
The production of electricity in the Vatican dates back to 1897 with a project to harness the flow of water descending from the Bracciano aqueduct. The aqueduct branches off into two directions and still functions today. The first branch reaches Villa Carpegna in Rome and proceeds from there to the “Fontanone del Gianicolo”, the large fountain on the Janiculum hill. The second branch follows the Via Aurelia road and reaches the Vatican at the old Porta Pertusa entrance.
The maximum water capacity, 243 l/s (litres per second), was channelled through a brick tunnel which ran through the Vatican Gardens to the Lourdes Grotto. From there, it was redirected to the Apostolic Palace (134 l/s) and to the “Fabbrica di San Pietro” (109 l/s) , the office managing St. Peter’s Basilica.
The water flow also went by tunnel to the “Fontana dell’Aquilone” (Fountain of the Eagle) where it descended fifteen meters to enter a conduit containing a turbine which it would turn, thereby allowing for the production of electricity. The construction of what would become the Vatican’s first power station took place from 1897-1898 and was inaugurated by Pope Leo XIII in 1899.
Following the Lateran Treaty of 1929, the new regulations regarding Vatican City State called for urgently needed efforts to unify and standardize the electrical infrastructure, the production of energy, the heating facilities, the water works and fire prevention. Among the key challenges that needed to be addressed was how to best use water from the Acqua Paola, which often varies in volume and availability, in order to reliably produce enough electricity and heating for the winter. A solution was found by opting for thermoelectric power since turbines turned by steam could produce the needed electrical power and the residual hot water could be used for winter heating.
From 1932 to 1933 this new thermoelectric power station was designed and built. Pope Pius XI inaugurated it with a ceremony in which he turned on the switch to activate the first turbine. The “Alessandro Volta Power Station” was built where the Vatican City Mint used to be, which was just down the road from the old power station whose equipment was transferred to the new one and modernized for improved production of energy.
The period from 1931 to 1935 was marked by the greatest number of changes and modernisation projects of the Vatican City infrastructure. From 1933-34 work started on a new network of energy distribution through a main power station called the “Sottostazione del Triangolo” completed in 1935-36.
The thermoelectric power station was able to handle the electrical load of the Vatican grid with only one turbine which was linked to one or two boilers depending on whether the heating system was in use or not. A third boiler was kept as an emergency reserve.