Portal:Vatican City

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Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkən/ ^ⓘ), 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...)

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Vatican Radio (Italian: Radio Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of the Vatican.

Set up in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave (also DRM), medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. The Jesuit Order has been charged with the management of Vatican Radio since its inception. During World War II and the rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Vatican Radio served as a source for news for the Allies as well as broadcasting pro-Allied (or simply neutral) propaganda.^[1] A week after Pope Pius XII ordered the programming, Vatican Radio broadcast to an unbelieving world that Poles and Jews were being rounded up and forced into ghettos.

Today, programming is produced by over two hundred journalists located in 61 different countries. Vatican Radio produces more than 42,000 hours of simultaneous broadcasting covering international news, religious celebrations, in-depth programs, and music. The current general director is Father Federico Lombardi, S.J.

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Credit: Sailko

Sistine Chapel (Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina) is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.

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

Image 1Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 2The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 3Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 4Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 5Cesare 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 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 7An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 8Pasta is popular in the Vatican, being one of Pope Francis' favorite dishes. (from Culture of Vatican City)
Image 9Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 10Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 11Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 12Members 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 13A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 14Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 15Map of Vatican City (from Geography 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 17The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 18President 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 19The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 20Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 21A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 22The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)

Did you know?

... that the final silent film directed by Giulia Cassini Rizzotto was partly funded by the Vatican and featured Italian aristocrats?
... that some Catholics considered Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (audio featured) to be blasphemous?
... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... 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 Bishop Aloisius Muench, the liaison between the Vatican and the U.S. post-war occupation authority in Germany, referred to the latter as "other Hitlers in disguise"?