Outline of Vatican City

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The location of Vatican City within Europe. Location Vatican City Europe.png
The location of Vatican City within Europe.
An enlargeable map of Vatican City State, including extraterritorial properties of the Holy See bordering Vatican City. Map of Vatican City.jpg
An enlargeable map of Vatican City State, including extraterritorial properties of the Holy See bordering Vatican City.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Vatican City:

Contents

Vatican City an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical [1] state, being the sovereign territory of the Holy See and ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The territory of this landlocked sovereign city-state consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 49 hectares (121 acres) [lower-alpha 1] and a population of about 825. [lower-alpha 2] This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.

General reference

View of Vatican City from the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. Vatican City view from Castel Sant'Angelo.JPG
View of Vatican City from the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome.

Geography of Vatican City

An enlargeable map of Vatican City. Holy See (Vatican City)-CIA WFB Map.png
An enlargeable map of Vatican City.

Geography of Vatican City

Location of Vatican City

Environment of Vatican City

A section of the wall in Vatican City, from the outside, behind the Vatican Gardens. Vaticane mura 2.jpg
A section of the wall in Vatican City, from the outside, behind the Vatican Gardens.
Vatikanische Gaerten Museen Rom.jpg
View of the Vatican Gardens from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. (The Vatican Museums can be seen to the right).

Natural geographic features of Vatican City

Vatican City is an enclave in an urban area, and lacks the geographic features common to (much larger) countries:

Regions of Vatican City

Ecoregions of Vatican City

  • None

Administrative divisions of Vatican City

Demography of Vatican City

Demographics of Vatican City

Government and politics of Vatican City

Politics of Vatican City

Branches of the government of Vatican City

Palace of the Governatorate, Vatican City. Roma-villa.jpg
Palace of the Governatorate, Vatican City.

Government of Vatican City

Executive branch of the government of Vatican City

Legislative branch of the government of Vatican City

Judicial branch of the government of Vatican City

  • Absolute judicial authority: Pope, currently Pope Francis
    • Supreme Court of Vatican City (Corte di Cassazione)
      • The Cardinal Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura serves ex officio as the President of the Supreme Court of Vatican City (Corte di Cassazione). The two other members of the Supreme Court are also Cardinals of the Apostolic Signatura and are chosen by the Cardinal Prefect on a yearly basis. [13]
    • Appellate Court of Vatican City
    • Tribunal of Vatican City State
    • Under the terms of article 22 the Lateran Treaty, [14] Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within Vatican City and will itself proceed against the person who committed the offence, if that person takes refuge in Italian territory. Persons accused of crimes recognized as such both in Italy and in Vatican City that are committed in Italian territory will be handed over to the Italian authorities if they take refuge in Vatican City or in buildings that under the treaty enjoy immunity. [15] [16]

Foreign relations of Vatican City

International organization membership

International organization membership of Vatican City Vatican City State is a member of: [17]

Law and order in Vatican City

Law of Vatican City State

Military in Vatican City

Vatican City State has no military, but resident within it is the Swiss Guard.

A Swiss Guard. Vatican 2.jpg
A Swiss Guard.

Military in Vatican City

Local government in Vatican City

History of Vatican City

History of Vatican City

Culture of Vatican City

Saint Peter's Square and beyond it Rome, as viewed from the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica. St Peter's Square, Vatican City - April 2007.jpg
Saint Peter's Square and beyond it Rome, as viewed from the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of this part of Rome. Vatican City at Large.jpg
St. Peter's Basilica from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of this part of Rome.

Culture of Vatican City

Art in Vatican City

Vatican Museum Queue - April 2007.jpg
On the last Sunday of each month, the Vatican Museum is open to the public for free. This is extremely popular and it is common to wait in line for many hours. This image is a panoramic view of one small stretch of the entire queue in April 2007, which continues for some distance in both directions beyond view. In the background is the Vatican City's wall.

Sports in Vatican City

Economy and infrastructure of Vatican City

The Vatican Radio building. Vatican-radio.jpg
The Vatican Radio building.
Euro banknotes. Euro banknotes 2002.png
Euro banknotes.

Economy of Vatican City

Education in Vatican City

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy See</span> Jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome

The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, Petrine See, Apostolic See, and Government of Vatican City, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome and sovereign of Vatican City. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Catholic Church, and sovereignty and governance over the city-state known as Vatican City.

The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vatican City</span> Holy Sees independent city-state in Italy

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is a landlocked independent country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within 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. With an area of 49 hectares and as of 2023 a population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and population. 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. The Vatican is also a metonym for the Holy See.

The politics of Vatican City take place in a framework of a theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pope, religiously speaking, the leader of the Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Vatican City as it is being governed by the Holy See, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lateran Treaty</span> 1929 treaty between Italy under the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and the Holy See

The Lateran Treaty was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman Question. The treaty and associated pacts were named after the Lateran Palace where they were signed on 11 February 1929, and the Italian parliament ratified them on 7 June 1929. The treaty recognized Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See. The Italian government also agreed to give the Roman Catholic Church financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States. In 1948, the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the Constitution of Italy as regulating the relations between the state and the Catholic Church. The treaty was significantly revised in 1984, ending the status of Catholicism as the sole state religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Vatican City</span> National flag

The flag of Vatican City was adopted in 1929. 1929 is the year Pope Pius XI signed the Lateran Treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state governed by the Holy See. The flag of Vatican City is modeled on the 1808 yellow-and-white flag of the earlier Papal States, to which a papal tiara and the crossed keys of Saint Peter were added.

A prisoner in the Vatican or prisoner of the Vatican described the situation of the pope with respect to Italy during the period from the capture of Rome by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy on 20 September 1870 until the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929. Part of the process of Italian unification, the city's capture ended the millennium-old temporal rule of the popes over central Italy and allowed Rome to be designated the capital of the new nation. Although the Italians did not occupy the territories of Vatican Hill delimited by the Leonine walls and offered the creation of a city-state in the area, the popes from Pius IX to Pius XI refused the proposal and described themselves as prisoners of the new Italian state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Coveney</span> Irish prelate of the Catholic Church (1934–2022)

Patrick Coveney was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009. He became an archbishop in 1985 and fulfilled several assignments as Apostolic Nuncio, including stints in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Sebastiani</span> Italian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1931)

Sergio Sebastiani is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was head of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1997 to 2008. He was made a cardinal in 2001. From 1960 to 1994 he worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, becoming an archbishop and apostolic nuncio in 1976 and leading the offices representing the Vatican in Madagascar, Mauritius, and Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vatican Railway</span> Railway system, railway company

The Vatican Railway was opened in 1934 to serve Vatican City and its only station, Vatican City. The main rail tracks are standard gauge and 300 metres (980 ft) long, with two freight sidings, making it the shortest national railway system in the world. Access to the Italian rail network is over a viaduct to Roma San Pietro railway station, and is guaranteed by the Lateran Treaty dating from 1929. The tracks and station were constructed during the reign of Pope Pius XI, shortly after the treaty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy See–Italy relations</span> Bilateral relations

Holy See–Italy relations are the special relations between the Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City, and the Italian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Bertello</span> Italian prelate

Giuseppe Bertello is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal since 2012, who was President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State from October 2011 to October 2021. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2011; became an archbishop in 1987; held appointments as Nuncio to several countries, including Rwanda, Mexico, and Italy; and was the Holy See's representative to a number of international organizations.

This is an index of Vatican City–related topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Vatican City</span>

Crime in the Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, pick-pocketing and shoplifting perpetrated by tourists upon other tourists. The tourist foot-traffic in St. Peter's Square is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City.

The Holy See has long been recognised as a subject of international law and as an active participant in international relations. One observer has stated that its interaction with the world has, in the period since World War II, been at its highest level ever. It is distinct from the city-state of the Vatican City, over which the Holy See has "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction".

The law of Vatican City State consists of many forms, the most important of which is the canon law of the Catholic Church. The organs of state are governed by the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State. The Code of Penal Procedure governs tribunals and the Lateran Treaty governs relations with the Italian Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Xuereb</span> Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1958)

Alfred Xuereb is a Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Apostolic Nuncio to both South Korea and Mongolia since February 2018. He previously worked in the Roman Curia and was a private secretary to Pope Benedict XVI from 2007 to 2013 and to Pope Francis from 2013 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beniamino Stella</span> Italian prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1941)

Beniamino Stella is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 2013 to 2021; he has been a cardinal since 2014. He began working in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1970, was made an archbishop in 1987, and served as a nuncio in several countries between 1987 and 2007. He led the Vatican's training program for its diplomats, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, from 2007 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni d'Aniello</span>


Giovanni d’Aniello is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. An archbishop since 2001, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Russian Federation on 1 June 2020. He has been apostolic nuncio or apostolic delegate to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and Laos, and Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Vérgez Alzaga</span> Spanish Catholic prelate

Fernando Vérgez AlzagaL.C. is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who has been President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State since 1 October 2021. He was Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2013 to 2021 and before that director of the Vatican City State Telecommunications Directorate.

References

  1. The De Agostini Atlas Calendar listed the area of Vatican City as 0.44 km2 in its 1930 edition [2] but corrected it to 0.49 km2 in its 1945–46 edition. [3] The figure of 0.44 km2 is still widely cited by many sources despite its inaccuracy.
  2. 453 residents and 372 nonresident citizens. [4]
  1. 1 2 "catholic-pages.com". catholic-pages.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  2. De Agostini Atlas Calendar Archived 2022-10-16 at the Wayback Machine , 1930, p. 99. (in Italian)
  3. De Agostini Atlas Calendar Archived 2022-10-16 at the Wayback Machine , 1945–46, p. 128. (in Italian)
  4. "Population" (in Italian). Vatican City State. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  5. "Vatican City State Institutional Portal". Archived from the original on 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  6. "International Telecommunication Union Member States". Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  7. "Stato della Città del Vaticano" is the name used in the state's founding document, the Treaty between the Holy See and Italy Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine , article 26.
  8. Cf. The Geography Site, "What do call a person from ?" Archived 2008-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Holy See (Vatican City)". CIA—The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  10. "Internet portal of Vatican City State". Vatican City State. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  11. Gerhard Robbers, Encyclopedia of World Constitutions (Infobase Publishing 2006 Archived 2022-12-04 at the Wayback Machine ISBN   978-0-81606078-8), p. 1009
  12. Nick Megoran, "Theocracy" in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, vol. 11, Elsevier 2009 Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine ISBN   978-0-08-044911-1, p.226| Quote:elective theocracy (although its representatives would be unlikely to accept that label)
  13. "Legge che approva l'ordinamento giudiziario dello Stato della Città del Vaticano (Suppl. 12)". Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS) 79. Holy See. 1987.
  14. "INTER SANCTAM SEDEM ET ITALIAE REGNUM CONVENTIONES INITAE DIE 11 FEBRUARII 1929" (in Italian). Vatican.va. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  15. "INTER SANCTAM SEDEM ET ITALIAE REGNUM CONVENTIONES* INITAE DIE 11 FEBRUARII 1929" (in Italian). Vatican.va. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  16. Shea, Alison. "Researching the Law of the Vatican City State". Hauser Global Law School Program. New York University School of Law. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  17. "Holy See (Vatican City)". The World Factbook . United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2020-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Gnome-globe.svg Wikimedia Atlas of Vatican City