Portal:Vatican City

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Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkənˈsɪti/ ^ⓘ), 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 is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, which is itself a sovereign entity under international law, maintaining the city-state's temporal power, 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...)

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The coat of arms of the State of Vatican City is blazoned gules, two keys in saltire Or and argent, interlaced in the rings gules/Or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned Or. Thus it is simply the emblem of the Papacy (emblem of the Holy See) displayed on a red field with the positions of the gold and silver keys reversed.

The crossed keys of gold and silver symbolise the keys of the kingdom of heaven promised to Saint Peter, with authority to bind and loose (Matthew 16:18–19).
The triple crown (the tiara) represents "the three powers of the Supreme Pontiff: Sacred Orders, Jurisdiction and Magisterium",^[1] in other words: his functions as "supreme priest", "supreme pastor" and "supreme teacher".
The gold cross surmounting the triple crowns symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus.

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Credit: MM

The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply Quirinale) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the current official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome. It housed thirty popes, four kings and eleven presidents of the Italian Republic.

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The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The 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 2The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 3An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
Image 4The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)
Image 5Territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
Image 6The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Vatican City)
Image 7The Vatican's post office was established on 11 February 1929. (from Vatican City)
Image 8President 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 9Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 10The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. (from Vatican City)
Image 11View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
Image 12St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. (from Vatican City)
Image 13Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
Image 14Pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
Image 15Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
Image 16Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 17Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 18Empress 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 19The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 20A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 21Gendarmerie car (from Vatican City)
Image 22A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
Image 23The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from Vatican City)
Image 24Cesare 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 25Members 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 26The shortest national railway system in the world (from Vatican City)
Image 27A 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 28Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
Image 29One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
Image 30Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 31The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from Vatican City)
Image 32The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 33Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 34Pope Francis in Vatican City, 2021 (from Vatican City)
Image 35Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Vatican City)
Image 36Image of the United Nations member state borders on a map (from Vatican City)
Image 37Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 38An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 39A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 40Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 41Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 42The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 43Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)

Did you know?

... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... that Sans's boss theme, "Megalovania", was played at the Vatican as part of a circus act during an audience with Pope Francis?
... that the Second Vatican Council tried to undo the latinization of Eastern Catholic liturgy?
... that the Vatican selected Mary Milligan in 1987 to be one of only three U.S. experts to assist the International Synod of Bishops on the Laity in Rome?
... that sport in Vatican City has included cricket, calcio fiorentino, and taekwondo?
... that the final silent film directed by Giulia Cassini Rizzotto was partly funded by the Vatican and featured Italian aristocrats?

...that Cædwalla of Wessex conquered southeast England during his brief 7th century reign?

...that Pope Pius XII's retention of Cesare Orsenigo (pictured left, with Hitler and von Ribbentrop) as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany is a "chief point of criticism" of his response to the Holocaust?