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The flag of Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State (Italian : Stato della Città del Vaticano ; Latin : Status Civitatis Vaticanae ), is a landlocked sovereign 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 . 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... )
The state of Vatican City has established no official language by law. However, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the
Legge sulle fonti del diritto of 7 June 1929, it promulgates its laws and regulations by publishing them in the Italian-language
Supplemento per le leggi e disposizioni dello Stato della Città del Vaticano attached to the
Acta Apostolicae Sedis .
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On its official website Vatican City uses Italian, English , French , German , and Spanish , but not Latin or Portuguese , which are found on the official website of the Holy See .
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The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 An
ATM in Vatican City with
Latin instructions (from
Economy of Vatican City )
Image 2 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 4 Empress
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 5 Map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 6 The Fountain of the Eagle "
Fontana dell'Aquilone " in the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 7 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 8 Polish ambassador to the Vatican,
Kazimierz Papée , was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 9 A 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 10 Pasta is popular in the Vatican, being one of
Pope Francis ' favorite dishes. (from
Culture of Vatican City )
Image 11 The crowds of tourists in
St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from
Crime in Vatican City )
Image 12 Bernardino Nogara , the chief Vatican financier during the war (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 13 Part of the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 14 Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 15 The
Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 16 Armenian cross monument (
Khatchkar ) inside the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 17 Members 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 18 Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 19 Cesare 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 20 The
Little Flower ,
Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 22 President
Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama meet with
Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on July 10, 2009. (from
Women in Vatican City )
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Saint Peter's Square