Vatican City
Capital: Vatican City · Southern Europe
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), often shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state in Southern Europe.
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Main facade of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome
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Palace of the Governorate. Vatican City State.
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With an area of 44 hectares (109 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the smallest country in the world both by area and by population. It is the only country in the world with a population of fewer than 1,000 people. 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.
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Photo of the Vatican Gardens
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Name
The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state named after Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state within the city of Rome. Vatican itself is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum, located in the general area the Romans called Ager Vaticanus ('Vatican territory').
The Italian-language name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, meaning 'State of Vatican City'. Its Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae; this is used in official documents by the Holy See, the Church and the pope.
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Railway station in Vatican Ciy .
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2007-06-10 in Rome
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History
The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus, a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome, located between the Janiculum, the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario, down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek. The toponym Ager Vaticanus is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, Vaticanus, denoting an area much more restricted: the Vatican Hill, today's St. Peter's Square, and possibly today's Via della Conciliazione.
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Musei Vaticani: Braccio Nuovo (inside).
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Geography
The territory of Vatican City is part of the Vatican Hill, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that St Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from Rome, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of Rome that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–855), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–1549), Pius IV (1559–1565), and Urban VIII (1623–1644).
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Governance
The politics of Vatican City takes place in the context of a unitary absolute elective monarchy and being governed by the Holy See, in which the head of the Catholic Church holds power. The pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of Vatican City, which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy.
The Vatican City State, created in 1929 by the Lateran Pacts, provides the Holy See with a temporal jurisdiction and independence within a small territory. It is distinct from the Holy See.
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Economy
The Vatican City State budget includes the Vatican Museums and post office and is supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by publications sales. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms.
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Demographics
As of 2024 Vatican City has a population of 882 residents, regardless of citizenship. There are 372 Vatican citizens residing elsewhere, consisting of diplomats of the Holy See to other countries and cardinals residing in Rome.
The population is composed of clergy, other religious members, laypeople serving the state (such as the Swiss Guard) and their family members. In 2013, there were 13 families of the employees of the Holy See living in Vatican City. In 2019, there were 20 children of the Swiss Guards living at the Vatican. All citizens, residents, and places of worship in the city are Catholic. The city receives thousands of tourists and workers every day.
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Culture
The Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St Peter's Basilica, designed by a succession of architects including Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Sandro Botticelli, as well as the ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo. The interiors of the Vatican were decorated by artists including Raphael and Fra Angelico.
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