HomePatronsRestorationsThe Carriage Museum

The Carriage Museum, a section of the Historical Museum, was set up by Paul VI in 1973. It houses a collection of carriages and automobiles used by popes and cardinals. It also contains a small model of the first locomotive that entered the Vatican City on the railway built in accordance with the 1929 Lateran Pacts.

These carriages have been restored thanks to the generosity of the patrons of the Florida Chapter.

Gala Berlin

Gran Gala Berlin

Graham Paige Limousine


The collection includes...

Black landaus carriage, the pope’s means of transport on non-ceremonial occasions, used until the early years of the papacy of Pius XI.

Gala Berlin carriage of Cardinal Lucien Louis Bonaparte (1829-95), cousin of Napoleon III; it bears a brass coat-of-arms with the Napoleonic eagle.

Two “terza gala” berlin carriages (including thrones)

The papal means of transport also includes the sedan-chairs. The one upholstered in red damask was built for Leo XIII, and was also used by his successors. The wooden sedan chair, never used, was presented to Leo XIII, on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood.

In the final section of the Museum there are three cars used by recent popes: a Graham Paige (1929), a Citroen (1930) and a Mercedes Benz (1930), which was used by Pius XII.