The idea behind the new 120,000 square foot "Caput Mundi" Mall, using a traditional saying about Rome as the "capital of the world," is to appeal not only to the four million visitors who move through the Vatican every year, but also the 35 million tourists and pilgrims expected for the Jubilee Year in 2025.

Ironically, the mall is located in a space associated with the last great jubilee. It occupies the fifth and top floor of a massive parking garage on Rome's Janiculum Hill built for the Jubilee Year of 2000, and has been in the works since 2020.

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