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The flag of Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State (Italian : Stato della Città del Vaticano ; Latin : Status Civitatis Vaticanae ), is a landlocked sovereign country , city-state , microstate , and enclave surrounded by, and historically a part of, Rome , Italy . It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty , and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See , itself a sovereign entity under international law , which maintains the city-state's temporal power and governance , diplomatic , and spiritual independence . The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope , the city-state's and worldwide Catholic Church government Holy See, and Roman Curia . The country has the world's smallest land area and the smallest population , with 764 citizens as of 2023.
With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and as of 2023 a population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population . It is also the second-least populated capital in the world. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal -monarchical state ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church . The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. (Full article... )
The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State , promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, is the Supreme Law of the Vatican . It obtained the Force of Law of 22 February 2001, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter , Apostle, and replaced in its entirety law N. I (the Fundamental Law of Vatican City of 7 June 1929). All the norms in force in Vatican City State which were not in agreement with the new Law were abrogated and the original of the Fundamental Law, bearing the Seal of Vatican City State , was deposited in the Archive of the Laws of Vatican City State and the corresponding text was published in the Supplement to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis [ 1] . The law consists of 20 Articles.
Credit: Giovanni Paolo Panini
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin : Basilica Sancti Petri ), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica , is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City .
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The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Polish ambassador to the Vatican,
Kazimierz Papée , was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 3 The crowds of tourists in
St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from
Vatican City )
Image 5 Empress
Saint Helena of Constantinople carrying the One
True Cross laying the grounds for the gardens using the sacred soil from
Mount Calvary . (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 6 The Fountain of the Eagle "
Fontana dell'Aquilone " in the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 7 The
Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 8 Map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 9 Pay phone in the Vatican City (from
Vatican City )
Image 10 Musicians of the
British Army 's
38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of
St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from
Vatican City )
Image 11 An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the
medieval and
current Basilicas of St. Peter (from
Vatican City )
Image 12 Armenian cross monument (
Khatchkar ) inside the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 14 Pope Francis in Vatican City, 2021 (from
Vatican City )
Image 15 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 17 One possible modern interpretation (from
Vatican City )
Image 18 The Vatican's post office was established on 11 February 1929. (from
Vatican City )
Image 19 President
Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama meet with
Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on July 10, 2009. (from
Women in Vatican City )
Image 20 St. Peter's Basilica , the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture (from
Vatican City )
Image 22 Members of the Canadian
Royal 22nd Regiment in audience with
Pope Pius XII , following the 1944 Liberation of Rome. (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 23 The
Little Flower ,
Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 24 Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by
Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from
Vatican City )
Image 25 The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from
Vatican City )
Image 27 Part of the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 28 Image of the
United Nations member state borders on a map (from
Vatican City )
Image 29 Cesare Orsenigo (left, with Hitler and Ribbentrop ) ,
nuncio to Germany , also served as
de facto nuncio to Poland. (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 30 Bernardino Nogara , the chief Vatican financier during the war (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 31 Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 32 The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from
Vatican City )
Image 33 An
ATM in Vatican City with
Latin instructions (from
Economy of Vatican City )
Image 34 The
Apostolic Palace (
Palazzo Apostolico ), the official residence of the Pope. Here,
Benedict XVI is at the window marked by a maroon banner hanging from the windowsill at centre. (from
Vatican City )
Image 35 A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from
Vatican City )
Image 36 Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from
Vatican City )
Image 37 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 38 The
Ingresso di Sant'Anna , an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from
Vatican City )
Image 39 View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from
Vatican City )
Image 40 Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 41 A monument to
Fr. Maximilian Kolbe , among the estimated 3,000 members (18%) of the Polish clergy who were killed by the Nazis; of these, 1,992 died in concentration camps. (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 42 Territory of Vatican City State according to the
Lateran Treaty (from
Vatican City )
Image 43 The crowds of tourists in
St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from
Crime in Vatican City )
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Saint Peter's Square