Observatory Astronomical Observatory, or the Vatican Observatory, is a scientific research institute directly dependent on the Holy See.
The Vatican Observatory can be considered one of the oldest astronomical observatories in the world. Its origin dates back to the fact the second half of the sixteenth century, when Pope Gregory XIII in the Vatican in 1578 he built the Tower of the Winds, and you invited the Jesuit astronomers and mathematicians of the Collegio Romano in preparing the reform of the calendar then promulgated in 1582. Since then, substantial continuity, the Holy See has never ceased to show interest and give its support to the astronomical research. This tradition reached its zenith in the twentieth century with the research carried out at the Roman College by the famous astronomer Jesuit Father Angelo Secchi, who first classified the stars according to their spectra. It was based on this long and rich tradition of Leo XIII, to counter persistent allegations made to the Church to be contrary to scientific progress, with the Motu proprio Ut mysticam of March 14, 1891, he founded the Vatican Observatory on the hill behind the St. Peter's Basilica.
