Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli

The third alinea of Article 14 of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 transfers to the Holy See the ex-conventual buildings in Rome annexed to the Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli and to the churches of Sant'Andrea della Valle and San Carlo ai Catinari. Article 15 reaches only the properties indicated in Article 13 and in the first and second alinea of Article 14, so the Santi XII Apostoli buildings fall outside Article 15: they do not carry the immunities international law recognises for the seats of the diplomatic agents of foreign states.

Article 16 provides that the properties named in the three preceding articles, together with the buildings used as the seats of a named list of pontifical institutes, shall never be subjected to encumbrances or to expropriation for reasons of public utility save by prior agreement with the Holy See, and shall be exempt from taxation, ordinary and extraordinary, whether to the State or to any other body. That is a property and tax provision. It is not extraterritoriality and it is not diplomatic immunity. The basilica stands on Italian soil, in rione Trevi: it is not in Vatican City and it is not Vatican territory.