Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), often shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state. Ruled by the pope, it is an enclave within Rome and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church. Vatican City is governed by the See of Rome, commonly known as the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the Holy See, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, comprising the pope and the Roman Curia. The independent state of Vatican City came into existence in 1929 via the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy.
With an area of 48.99 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. It is the only country in the world with a population of under 1,000 people. It is among the least populated capitals 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. The Holy See dates to early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which in 2018 had about 1.329 billion baptized Catholics in the world, in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. 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...)
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The Politics of Vatican City takes place in a framework of an absolute theocratic elective monarchy, in which the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of the Vatican City[1] (an entity distinct from the Holy See), a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
The pope is elected in the Conclave, composed of all the cardinal electors (now limited to all the cardinals below the age of 80), after the death or resignation of the previous Pope. The Conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel, where all the electors are locked in (Latin cum clave) until the election for which a two-thirds majority is required. The faithful can follow the results of the polls (usually two in the morning and two in the evening, until election) by a chimney-top, visible from St. Peter's Square: in a stove attached to the chimney are burnt the voting papers, and additives make the resulting smoke black (fumata nera) in case of no election, white (fumata bianca) when the new pope is finally elected. The Dean of the Sacred College (Cardinale Decano) will then ask the freshly elected pope to choose his pastoral name, and as soon as the pope is dressed with the white habit, the Senior Cardinal-Deacon (Cardinale Protodiacono) appears on the major balcony of St. Peter's façade to introduce the new pope[2] with the famous Latin sentence
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: habemus papam.(I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope).
The Vatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana) is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, it now has headquarters and laboratory at the summer residence of the Pope in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and an observatory at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States.[3]
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Vatican City Vatican City-related lists Buildings and structures in Vatican City Education in Vatican City Environment of Vatican City Geography of Vatican City Government of Vatican City Organizations based in Vatican City
The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Image 1Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
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Image 2Map of the Italian peninsula in 1796, showing the Papal States in central Italy coloured purple (from Vatican City)
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Image 3The territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
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Image 4Empress 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)
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Image 5One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
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Image 6The Loggia of the Casino of Pius IV, a Renaissance building located in the Vatican Gardens. The Casino of Pius IV was built in the mid-16th century by architect Pirro Ligorio for Pope Pius IV. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 7Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 8Members 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)
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Image 9Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
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Image 11A pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
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Image 13A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
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Image 14The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
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Image 15The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
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Image 16View of Vatican City in the evening (from Vatican City)
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Image 17The 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)
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Image 18Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
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Image 20Vatican City's post office was established in February 1929. (from Vatican City)
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Image 23Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
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Image 24Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
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Image 25Cesare Orsenigo (left, with Hitler and Ribbentrop), nuncio to Germany, also served as de facto nuncio to Poland. (from Vatican City during World War II)
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Image 26President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on July 10, 2009. (from Women in Vatican City)
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Image 28A 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)
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Image 29Armenian cross monument ( Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 30The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets (from Vatican City)
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Image 32A view of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
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Image 34The Fountain of the Eagle " Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 35An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
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Image 36Pope Pius XI decree and conferment of Saint Therese of France to be Patroness of the gardens, flanked by Cardinal Louis Billot. The Leonine walls, 17 May 1927. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 37St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture (from Vatican City)
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Image 38The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language (from Vatican City)
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Image 39Tourists try out a seat cut from a stump, said to have been the favorite relaxing spot of Pope John Paul II. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 40The basilica as seen from the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 41A map of the United Nations member states (from Vatican City)
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Image 42Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 43Italian Garden (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 44Torre San Giovanni, on an ancient wall originally built by Pope Nicholas III. The tower fell into disuse in the 16th century but was rebuilt in the early 1960s by Pope John XXIII. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
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Image 45A map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
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Image 46The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)
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Image 471€-Vatican_Franciscus-Revers (from Economy of Vatican City)
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Image 48Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
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Image 49An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
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