Vatican City
| (In Detail) |
- Total
- % water
0.44 km²
Negligible
- Total (2004)
- Density
921
2093/km²
- Date
11 February 1929
May 23, 1949
October 3, 1990
- in summer
CEST (UTC+2)
2 Italian lira prior to 1999.
History
Main article: History of the Vatican City It is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome (the ager vaticanus) had always been considered sacred, even before the arrival of Christianity. In 326 the first church was built on the supposed site of the tomb of Saint Peter, and from then on the area started to become more populated. Popes in their secular role gradually extended their control over neighbouring regions and through the Papal States ruled a large portion of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when most of the territory of the Papal States was seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the Pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved on February 11, 1929 by three Lateran treaties, which established the independent state of the Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion.Politics
Main article: Politics of the Vatican City The Vatican is technically a rare case of a non-hereditary elective monarchy; the monarch, the Pope, being elected for life by those Cardinals under the age of 80 during a Conclave (held in the Sistine Chapel). The term "Holy See" refers to the composite of the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. As the "central government" of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See has a legal personality that allows it to enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state. The Pope delegates the internal administration of the Vatican City to the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican City. The legal system is based on canon, or ecclesiastical, law; if canon law is not applicable the laws of the city of Rome apply. As an independent state, the Vatican has the right to send and receive diplomatic representatives, including foreign embassies, which are located in the Italian part of Rome due to the very limited territory of the state. This means that Italy hosts its own Embassy of Italy. The Holy See is a permanent observer in the United Nations, and in July, 2004, gained all the rights of full membership except voting. According to Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See Permanent Observer, "We have no vote because this is our choice." He added that the Vatican considers that its current status "is a fundamental step that does not close any path for the future. The Holy See has the requirements defined by the UN statute to be a member state and, if in the future it wished to be so, this resolution would not impede it from requesting it."Geography
Main article: Geography of the Vatican City The Vatican City is situated on the Vatican Hill in the northwestern part of Rome, several hundred metres west of the Tiber river, on the latter's right bank. Its borders (3.2km in total, all with Italy) closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack. The situation is more complex at the famous St. Peter's Square in front of the St. Peter's Basilica, where the correct border is the middle of the round area surrounded by Bernini's columns. It is the smallest sovereign state in the world at 0.44 km² (108.7 acres). According to the Lateran Treaties certain properties of the Holy See, although not being part of the territory of the City State, enjoy the privilege of extraterritoriality (e.g. Major Basilicas, Curial and diocesan offices, Castel Gandolfo). The Pope is the Head of State, though he governs through the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City. The Gubernator manages the day to day affairs of the State. Its climate is naturally much the same as Rome's; a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to September. Image:Vt-map.pngEconomy
Main article: Economy of the Vatican City This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps, coins and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.Demographics
Main article: Demographics of the Vatican City Almost all of Vatican City's citizens live inside the Vatican's walls. The Vatican citizenry consists mostly of clergy, including high dignitaries, priests, nuns, as well as the famous Swiss Guard, a volunteer military force. There are also about 3,000 lay workers who comprise the majority of the Vatican work force, but who reside outside the Vatican. The official language is Latin, the otherwise extinct language that originated in Rome and has remained in use in the Roman Catholic Church. Italian and, to a lesser extent, other languages are generally used for most conversations, publications, and broadcasts.Culture
Main article: Culture of the Vatican City The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica or the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most beautiful art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance.Transportation and communications
The Vatican City has no airports. There is one heliport and a 862 m standard gauge (1.435 m) railway that connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station. A newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, publishes daily in Italian, weekly in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and monthly in Polish.Miscellaneous topics
References
- The Holy See - Official website of the Holy See
External links
- Some photos - Text is in Italian
| Countries in Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Andorra > Austria | Azerbaijan > Belarus | Belgium > Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria > Croatia | Cyprus > Czech Republic | Denmark > Estonia | Finland > France | Germany > Greece | Hungary > Iceland | Ireland > Italy | Latvia > Liechtenstein | Lithuania > Luxembourg | Republic of Macedonia > Malta | Moldova > Monaco | Netherlands > Norway | Poland > Portugal | Romania > Russia | San Marino > Serbia and Montenegro | Slovakia > Slovenia | Spain > Sweden | Switzerland > Turkey | Ukraine > United Kingdom | Vatican City (Holy See) |
| Dependencies: Faroe Islands | Gibraltar > Guernsey | Jan Mayen > Jersey | Isle of Man > Svalbard Category:European countries |
atican City
Vtican City
Vaican City
Vatcan City
Vatian City
Vaticn City
Vatica City
VaticanCity
Vatican ity
Vatican Cty
Vatican Ciy
Vatican Cit
aVtican City
Vtaican City
Vaitcan City
Vatcian City
Vatiacn City
Vaticna City
Vatica nCity
VaticanC ity
Vatican iCty
Vatican Ctiy
Vatican Ciyt
Vatican Cit
VVatican City
Vaatican City
Vattican City
Vatiican City
Vaticcan City
Vaticaan City
Vaticann City
Vatican City
Vatican CCity
Vatican Ciity
Vatican Citty
Vatican Cityy
atican city
vtican city
vaican city
vatcan city
vatian city
vaticn city
vatica city
vaticancity
vatican ity
vatican cty
vatican ciy
vatican cit
avtican city
vtaican city
vaitcan city
vatcian city
vatiacn city
vaticna city
vatica ncity
vaticanc ity
vatican icty
vatican ctiy
vatican ciyt
vatican cit
vvatican city
vaatican city
vattican city
vatiican city
vaticcan city
vaticaan city
vaticann city
vatican city
vatican ccity
vatican ciity
vatican citty
vatican cityy