The Vatican – The holiest site in Roman Catholic denomination of Christianity and home of the pope as well as the world´s smallest country (110 acres) !

The St. Peter´s Basilica is the largest, holiest and most sacred Church in Roman Catholic Church and the current one was built between 1506 – 1626 AD-over 120 years !

It is possible to glance and see the pope on designated times of the week if the Pope is in the Vatican City. I missed seeing him many times ! may be sometime in the future im lucky !

VATICAN CITY : TOTAL QUICK WALKTHROUGH OF SAINT PETERS BASILICA

Inside the St. Peter¨s Basilica at the Vatican City – The holiest site in Roman Catholic Church – This basilica is built at the same site where St. Peter (One of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ was crucified upside down and buried)

The Bernini¨s Baldacchin inside the St. Peter´s basilica – the Canopy symbolically protecting the St Peters grave underneath the Basilica of St. Peter. Below the Basilica is the crypt and necropolis – The tomb of St. Peter

WHAT IS THE VATICAN CITY ?

´´VATICAN CITY´´

IS A LANDLOCKED & INDEPENDENT CITY STATE & ENCLAVE LOCATED WITHIN ROME, ITALY

UNDER THE SOVEREIGNITY OF

´´THE HOLY SEE´´

THE HOLY SEE

IS IN ITSELF A SOVERIEGN ENTITY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

WHICH MAINTAINS THE TEMPORAL, DIPLOMATIC & SPIRITUAL INDEPENDENCE OF

THE VATICAN CITY STATE

Vatican City – officially the Vatican City State (Italian : Stato della Città del Vaticano / Latin : Status Civitatis Vaticanae), is a landlocked and independent city state and enclave located within Rome, Italy
The Vatican City State – also known simply as the Vatican, became independent from Italy with the Lateran Treaty (1929) and it is a distinct territory under “full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction” of the Holy See – which is itself a sovereign entity of international law, which maintains the city state’s temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence
With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about / around 825 (as on 2019) it is the smallest state in the world by both area and population
As governed by the Holy See – the Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state (a type of theocracy) 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 national origins
After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1437) 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
The Holy See dates back to Early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptized Catholic Christians in the world as of 2018 in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches
The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of central Italy
Within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums
They feature some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures
The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications
Inside the Vatican Museum gardens (Musei Vaticani) – One of the MOST RICHEST PALACES in the world with. Vatican may be the WORLD¨s SMALLEST COUNTRY but it has THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION of TREASURES – Paintings, frescoes (by artists like Michaelangelo), Tapestries, Mosaics, sculptures and extraordinary architecture that would take a lifetime to explore and understand !

Vatican City State Status Civitatis Vaticanae (Latin) Stato della Città del Vaticano (Italian)
Flag Coat of arms


Official languages	Italian
Religion	Christianity (Catholicism) – The official religion
Government	Unitary Christian absolute monarchy (under an ecclesiastical and elective theocracy)

Sovereign entity	Holy See
Sovereign	Pope Francis
Secretary of State	Pietro Parolin
President of the Governorate	Fernando Vérgez Alzaga
Legislature	Pontifical Commission
Independence from Italy

Lateran Treaty	11 February 1929; 92 years ago
Area
Total	0.49 km² (0.19 sq mi) (194th)
Population
2019 estimate	453 (240th)
Density	924/km² (2,393.1/sq mi) (12th)
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+379
ISO 3166 code	VA
Internet TLD	.va

HOW DID THE NAME OF VATICAN CITY COME ABOUT ?

The Lateran treaty (signed on 11 February 1929) established the modern city-state named after Vatican Hill – the geographic location of the state
The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty – signed on 11 February 1929
“Vatican” 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 official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, meaning “Vatican City State”
Vatican City uses Italian – although the Holy See (which is distinct from Vatican City) and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents
The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae – this is used in official documents by the Holy See, the Church and the Pope

´´VATICAN CITY´´

IS A LANDLOCKED & INDEPENDENT CITY STATE & ENCLAVE LOCATED WITHIN ROME, ITALY

UNDER THE SOVEREIGNITY OF

´´THE HOLY SEE´´

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

VATICAN CITY

AND

THE HOLY SEE ?

THE HOLY SEE

IS IN ITSELF A SOVERIEGN ENTITY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

WHICH MAINTAINS THE TEMPORAL, DIPLOMATIC & SPIRITUAL INDEPENDENCE OF

THE VATICAN CITY STATE

As a sovereign entity – the Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises exclusive dominion over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the pope is sovereign

The Holy See (Latin : Sancta Sedes / Italian : Santa Sede), also called the See of Rome or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, which includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome with universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, as well as a sovereign entity of international law, governing the Vatican City
According to Catholic tradition it was founded in the first century by Saints Peter and Paul and, by virtue of Petrine and papal primacy, is the focal point of full communion for Catholic Christians around the world
As a sovereign entity – the Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises “exclusive dominion” over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the pope is sovereign
It is organized into polities of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, and their dioceses and religious institutes
The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia (Latin for “Court”) – which is the central government of the Catholic Church
The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries (comparable to ministries and executive departments) with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator
Papal elections are carried out by the College of Cardinals

DESCRIBE THE BRIEF HISTORY OF VATICAN CITY

DID THE POPES ALWAYS STAYED AT THE VATICAN CITY ?

NO

FOR MOST OF THE TIME – THE POPES DID NOT LIVE AT THE VATICAN

THE LATERAN PALACE – ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF ROME WAS THEIR HABITUAL RESIDENCE FOR ABOUT A THOUSAND YEARS

BRIEFLY BETWEEN 1309 TO 1377 – THEY LIVED AT AVIGNON IN FRANCE

THE PAPAL STATES PERIOD

Popes gradually came to have a secular role as governors of regions near Rome
The Popes ruled the Papal States (which covered a large portion of the Italian peninsula) for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century after when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy
For about a thousand years – The Lateran Palace on the opposite side of Rome, was their habitual residence
Between 1309 to 1377 – they lived at Avignon in France
On their return to Rome – they chose to live at the Vatican
In 1583 – They moved to the Quirinal Palace after work on it was completed under Pope Paul V (1605 – 1621)
On the capture of Rome in 1870 – The Popes retired to the Vatican and what had been their residence became that of the King of Italy

HOW DID THE TRANSITION HAPPEN FROM PAPAL STATES TO VATICAN CITY AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE UNDER THE SOVEREIGNITY OF THE HOLY SEE ?

BY THE SIGNING OF THE LATERAN TREATY

(NAMED AFTER THE LATERAN PALACE)

THE LATERAN TREATY IS A BILATERAL TREATY SIGNED ON 11 FEBRUARY 1929 BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND THE KINGDOM OF ITALY

THE LATERAN TREATY RECOGNIZED THE VATICAN CITY AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE UNDER THE SOVEREIGNITY OF THE HOLY SEE

Type of Treaty	Bilateral treaty signed between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
Context	Establishment of papal state on the Italian Peninsula
Signed	11 February 1929
Location	Rome, Italy
Effective	7 June 1929
Condition	Ratification by the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
Signatories	Holy See Kingdom of Italy
Language	Italian

The Lateran Treaty (Italian : Patti Lateranensi; Latin : Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 – agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emanuel III and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle the long-standing Roman Question
On 11 February 1929 – the Lateran Treaty was signed between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy – represented by by the Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III and by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri for Pope Pius XI
The Lateran treaty, which became effective on 7 June 1929 – established the independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy
The treaty and associated pacts were named after the Lateran Palace where they were signed on 11 February 1929
The Italian parliament ratified them on 7 June 1929
The Lateran treaty recognized Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See
To commemorate the successful conclusion of the negotiations and signing of the Lateran Treaty – Mussolini commissioned the Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) which would symbolically link the Vatican City to the heart of Rome

The Constitution of the Italian Republic, adopted in 1948, states that relations between the State and the Catholic Church “are regulated by the Lateran Treaties”
In 1948 – the Lateran Treaty was recognized in the Constitution of Italy as regulating the relations between the state and the Catholic Church
The Holy See – which ruled Vatican City, pursued a policy of neutrality during World War II under the leadership of Pope Pius XII and had refrained from creating cardinals during the war