Portal:Vatican City

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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...)

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The transportation system in Vatican City, a country 1.05 km long and 0.85 km wide,^[1] is a small transportation system with no airports or highways. Given an average walking speed of 3.6 km/h,^[2] 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.^[1] There is a heliport in the western corner of the city-state that is used for officials of the Holy See and official visitors.^[3]

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

Did you know?

... that the Vatican's website was first made available in Latin under Pope Benedict XVI?
... 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 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 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?