Camillo Serafini (April 21, 1864 – March 21, 1952) was an Italian

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

and the first and only Governor of Vatican City, from 11 February 1929 to 21 March 1952."Milestones"
''Time'', 31 March 1952 He was also notable as a

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

. In 1898, Serafini was appointed as curator of the numismatic collections of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. He published a catalogue of the Vatican collections between 1910 and 1928. He was also president of the Circolo San Pietro, a support organization for the

Prefecture of the Papal Household The Prefecture of the Papal Household (''Prefettura della Casa Pontificia'') is the office in charge of the Papal Household, a section of the Roman Curia containing the Papal Chapel (''Cappella Pontificia'') and the Papal Family (''Familia Pontif ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

appointed Serafini as Governor of Vatican City in 1929, on the foundation of the State, and he remained in office until his death in 1952. Pius XI built the Governor's Palace in the

Vatican Gardens The Gardens of Vatican City (), also informally known as the Vatican Gardens () in Vatican City, are private urban gardens and parks which cover more than half of the country, located in the west of the territory and owned by the Pope. There a ...

to house the Governor's administration. In 1929, it fell to Serafini to welcome the king and queen of Italy when they visited the Vatican. In December 1934, Pius XI ordered Serafini to reorganize the civil administration of the Vatican City and gave him absolute legislative powers for six months, reported by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' under the headline "Dictator named for Vatican City". As governor, Serafini signed the convention of 6 September 1932 between the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. In 1943, he signed with the German-controlled

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

the guarantee of extraterritoriality for religious buildings not included in the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty (; ) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between Italy under Victor Emmanuel III and Benito Mussolini and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman question. The treaty and ass ...

. On 20 December 1939, the king and queen of Italy made a further state visit to the Vatican, and Serafini read an address to welcome them. In 1950, Charles H. Doyle described Serafini as "a colorful layman" who was a frequent visitor to

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. Serafini died in Rome of

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of part ...

on March 21, 1952, aged 88. The office of Governor of Vatican City was brought to an end by

on the death of Serafini, and its functions were transferred to the

Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...

.Charles D. Pettibone, ''The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II'', Volume VI: "Italy and France Including the Neutral Countries of San Marino, Vatican" (Trafford Publishing, 2010),
p. 231
/ref> The marquis was a cousin of

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Domenico Serafini Domenico Serafini, O.S.B. Subl. (3 August 1852 – 5 March 1918) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served in various pastoral, diplomatic, and curial posts, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1914. Biography ...

, who served as Prefect of the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...

between 1916 and 1918.

References

Publications

*Camillo Serafini, Catalogo delle monete e bolle plumbee pontificie del Medagliere Vaticano, *Camillo Serafini, "Le monete e le bolle plumbee pontificie del Medagliere Vaticano", 4 voll., Milano, 1908–1927. *Camillo Serafini, Della collezione di Celati di monete pontificie acquistata per il Medagliere Vaticano dal Pontefice Benedetto XV. *Camillo Serafini, L’arte nei ritratti della moneta romana repubblicana; amillo Serafini - Roma, 1897. - p. 3-34, 1 tav. ; 27 cm. - Estr. da: Bullettino della commissione archeologica comunale di Roma, 25 (1897), fasc.1 *Camillo Serafini, Saggio intorno alle monete e medaglioni antichi ritrovati nelle

catacombe Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

di Panfilo sulla via Salaria Vetus in

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, in Scritti in onore di Bartolomeo Nogara raccolti in occasione del suo LXX anno, Roma, Tipografia del Senato, 1937, pp. 421–443.

External links

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Italian numismatists Vatican City people 1952 deaths 1864 births {{VaticanCity-bio-stub