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 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 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).

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Credit: George Peter Alexander Healy

Vatican during the Savoyard Era 1870-1929 describes the relation of the Vatican to Italy, after 1870, which marked the end of the Papal State and 1929, when the papacy regained autonomy in the Lateran Treaty.

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

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