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Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), is a landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and seat of the Catholic Church. It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. It is governed by the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the pope, the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy See and the Roman Curia.

With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. It is among the least populated capitals 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...)

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 (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 with the famous Latin sentence Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: habemus papam.(I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope).

The Vatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana) is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, it now has headquarters and laboratory at the summer residence of the Pope in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and an observatory at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States.

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

Image 1A map of the United Nations member states (from Vatican City)
Image 2The Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Vatican City)
Image 3The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 4The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. (from Vatican City)
Image 5Empress 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 6The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 7An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
Image 8A view of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
Image 9Cesare 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 10The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Vatican City)
Image 11The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from Vatican City)
Image 12The 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 13The territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
Image 14President 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 15Members 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 16A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
Image 17The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from Vatican City)
Image 18The Vatican's post office was established in February 1929. (from Vatican City)
Image 19Pope Leo XIV, 2025 (from Vatican City)
Image 20Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 21Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 22A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 23View of Vatican City in the evening. (from Vatican City)
Image 24A map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
Image 25The shortest national railway system in the world (from Vatican City)
Image 26Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
Image 27Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 28Pope Pius XI decree and conferment of Saint Therese of France to be Patroness of the gardens, flanked by Cardinal Louis Billot. The Leonine walls, 17 May 1927. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 29A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 30A pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
Image 31Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 32Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 33An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 34One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
Image 35Italian Garden (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 36Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 37The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)
Image 38Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 39Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
Image 40Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 41A Vatican gendarmerie car (from Vatican City)
Image 42A 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 43The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 44St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. (from Vatican City)

... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... that Antiqua et nova is a Vatican document that expresses serious ethical concerns surrounding the usage of artificial intelligence?
... that Karl Malte von Heinz designed the Vatican, Pakistani, Yugoslav and Thai diplomatic missions in India?
... 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 some Catholics considered Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (audio featured) to be blasphemous?

...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?"

...that Clemente Micara was the Vatican’s first envoy to Czechoslovakia?

...that Clemente Micara was the Vatican’s first envoy to Czechoslovakia?

Vatican City

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Five images of Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican stitched up to make this panorama.

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Homepage of The Vatican

↑ Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, Art. 1, #1
↑ Ap. Const. Universi Dominici Gregis n. 89
↑ Johnson, George (2009-06-22). "Vatican's Celestial Eye, Seeking Not Angels but Data". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-24.

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[1] Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, Art. 1, #1

[2] Ap. Const. Universi Dominici Gregis n. 89

[nytimes-3] Johnson, George (2009-06-22). "Vatican's Celestial Eye, Seeking Not Angels but Data". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-24.