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 Holy See, and the Roman Curia.

With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 764 (as of 2023), 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 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.

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Sistine Chapel (Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina) is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.

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

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