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Vatican walled off centuries ago to repel Muslim attacks

Pope Francis delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and to the world”) blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Pope Francis is praying that recent U.N.-backed peace agreements for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people while praising the generosity of those countries that have taken their refugees in.
Pope Francis delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and to the world”) blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Pope Francis is praying that recent U.N.-backed peace agreements for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people while praising the generosity of those countries that have taken their refugees in. L’Osservatore Romano via AP AP

A recent letter by Jack Jokinen regarding Vatican City omitted one important fact. The city was walled in by Pope Leo in the 800s to fend off hordes of Muslim invaders.

Tom Durante

Bradenton

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Vatican walled off centuries ago to repel Muslim attacks ."

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