vatican City

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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. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope, Holy See, and Roman Curia.

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. 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 transportation system in Vatican City, a country 1.05 km long and 0.85 km wide, is a small transportation system with no airports or highways. Given an average walking speed of 3.6 km/h, Vatican City can be crossed in 20 minutes or less. Thus, much of the infrastructure in the Vatican consists of St. Peter's Square itself, hallways and aisles in the basilica and surrounding buildings, and walkways behind and between the buildings. There is a heliport in the western corner of the city-state that is used for officials of the Holy See and official visitors.

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Credit: Chris Greenberg

Popemobile (Italian: Papamobile) is an informal name for the specially designed motor vehicles used by the pope during outdoor public appearances without having to employ the antiquated and often impractical sedia gestatoria.

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

Image 1Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 2Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 3Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 4An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 5The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of 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 7Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 8A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 9The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 10The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 11Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 12Pasta is popular in the Vatican, being one of Pope Francis' favorite dishes. (from Culture of Vatican City)
Image 13President 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 14Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 15Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 16A 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 17Members 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 18Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 19The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 20Cesare 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 21Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 22A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy 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 the final silent film directed by Giulia Cassini Rizzotto was partly funded by the Vatican and featured Italian aristocrats?
... 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 some Catholics considered Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (audio featured) to be blasphemous?
... that the Second Vatican Council tried to undo the latinization of Eastern Catholic liturgy?

...that a portion of the Palatine Library returned to Heidelberg in 1816, almost two centuries after it was looted from city by the Catholic League?"

...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?

...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?"

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A 360 panorama of Rome taken from the top of St Peter's Basilica.

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article Portal:Vatican City, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
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