Outline of Vatican City

The Flag of Vatican City		The Coat of arms of Vatican City

The location of Vatican City

An enlargeable map of the State of the Vatican City, including extraterritorial properties of the Holy See bordering Vatican City

See also: Index of Vatican City-related articles

The State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano) is a landlocked sovereign religious city-state comprising a walled enclave within the City of Rome.^[1] With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres) and a population of about 800, it is the smallest independent state in the world.^[2] Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence only in 1929. It is thus clearly distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian. Official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the number of passports issued is extremely limited.

Vatican City is a non-hereditary, elected absolute monarchy that is ruled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all clergymen of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Vatican City.

General reference

View of Vatican City from the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome

• Pronunciation: /ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/ ( listen)
• Common English country name: Vatican City
• Official English country name: The State of the Vatican City
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s):
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology: Name of Vatican City
• ISO country codes: VA, VAT, 336
• ISO region codes: none
• Internet country code top-level domain: .va

Geography of Vatican City

An enlargeable map of the Vatican City

Main article: Geography of Vatican City

• Vatican City is:
  • A walled enclave within the city of Rome
  • A sovereign city-state
  • A European microstate
• Location:
  • Eastern Hemisphere
  • Northern Hemisphere
    • Eurasia
      • Europe
        • Southern Europe
          • Italian Peninsula
            • Surrounded by Italy
              • Surrounded by Lazio
                • Surrounded by Rome
  • Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02)
  • Extreme points of Vatican City
    • High: unnamed location 75 m (246 ft)
    • Low: Saint Peter's Square 33 m (108 ft)
  • Land boundaries:  Italy 3.2 km
  • Coastline: none
• Population: 824 (2008) - 220th
• Size: 0.44 square kilometres (0.17 sq mi) - 234th largest country
• Atlas of Vatican City

Environment of Vatican City

A section of the wall in Vatican City, from the outside, behind the Vatican Gardens.

Main article: Environment of Vatican City

• Climate of Vatican City
• Environmental issues in Vatican City
• Ecoregions in Vatican City: none
• Renewable energy in Vatican City
• Geology of Vatican City
• Protected areas of Vatican City: none
  • Biosphere reserves in Vatican City: none
  • National parks of Vatican City
• Wildlife of Vatican City
  • Flora of Vatican City
  • Fauna of Vatican City
    • Birds of Vatican City
    • Mammals of Vatican City

View of the Vatican Gardens from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. (The Vatican Museums can be seen to the right).

Natural geographic features of Vatican City

Vatican City is an enclave in an urban area, and lacks the geographic features common to (much larger) countries:

• Lakes: none
• Mountains: none
• Rivers: none
• Valleys: none
• World Heritage Sites in Vatican City: Vatican City is itself a World Heritage Site

Regions of Vatican City

• None
• Vatican City is inside Rome, which in turn lies within the Lazio region of Italy.
• Vatican City lies next to the Borgo district in Rome.

Ecoregions of Vatican City

• None

Administrative divisions of Vatican City

• Vatican City has no administrative divisions.
• It could be considered an administrative division of Rome, but because it is its own country it is (mostly) administratively independent of Rome. (See Judicial branch of the government of Vatican City, below.)

Demography of Vatican City

Main article: Demographics of Vatican City

Government and politics of Vatican City

Main article: Politics of Vatican City

• Form of government: Ecclesiastical; elective non-hereditary Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
• Capital: Vatican City

• Association of Vatican Lay Workers
• Elections in Vatican City
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Vatican City: none. Vatican City is in the jurisdiction of the Holy See, which has absolute authority over it.
• Political scandals of Vatican City
  • Banco Ambrosiano
  • Gone with the Wind in the Vatican
  • Roman Question
• Taxation in Vatican City
• Vatican Secret Archives

Branches of the government of Vatican City

Palace of the Governatorate, Vatican City

Main article: Government of Vatican City

Executive branch of the government of Vatican City

• Head of state: Pope, Benedict XVI
• Head of government: President of the Governatorate of Vatican City, Giovanni Lajolo
• Governatorate of Vatican City

Legislative branch of the government of Vatican City

• Absolute legislative authority: Pope, Benedict XVI
  • Secretariat of State
    • Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
      • President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State: Giovanni Lajolo
      • Laws passed by the Commission must be approved by the pope through the Secretariat of State prior to being published and taking effect.

Judicial branch of the government of Vatican City

Main article: Court system of Vatican City

• Absolute judicial authority: Pope, Benedict XVI
  • Cassation Court of Vatican City
    • Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura customarily serves as President of the Cassation Court
  • Appellate Court of Vatican City
    • Dean of the Sacra Rota serves as President of the Appellate Court
  • Most crimes are prosecuted by and handled in the courts of the Republic of Italy, at the Vatican's expense, by agreement between the Vatican and the Italian government (in accordance with Article 22 of the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy).^[3]

Foreign relations of Vatican City

Main article: Foreign relations of Vatican City

• Diplomatic missions in Vatican City: none (Vatican City doesn't maintain diplomatic relations with anyone, only the Holy See does. See below).
  • Because Vatican City is too small, diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome, not in Vatican City itself.
    • Diplomatic missions to the Holy See
• Diplomatic missions of Vatican City: none. (See below).
  • The Holy See, which Vatican City is the sovereign territory of, maintains diplomatic relations with 176 countries.
    • Diplomatic missions of the Holy See
• China-Vatican City relations
• Italy-Vatican City relations
• United States-Vatican City relations
• United Kingdom-Vatican City relations

International organization membership

Main article: International organization membership of Vatican City

The State of the Vatican City is a member of:^[1]

Council of Europe (CE) (observer) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Organization for Migration (IOM) (observer) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

Organization of American States (OAS) (observer) Unione Latina (observer) United Nations (UN) (permanent observer) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (observer) World Trade Organization (WTO) (observer)

Law and order in Vatican City

Main article: Law of Vatican City State

• Constitution: Fundamental Law of Vatican City State
• Capital punishment in Vatican City: abolished in 1969
• Crime in Vatican City (committed mostly by tourists)
• Human rights in Vatican City
  • LGBT rights in Vatican City
  • Freedom of religion in Vatican City
• Lateran Treaty
• Law enforcement in Vatican City

Military of Vatican City

A Swiss Guard

Main article: Military of Vatican City

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief: Daniel Anrig
• Forces — Vatican City lies within Rome, the capital of Italy, and therefore defense is the responsibility of Italy.
  • Army of Vatican City: Swiss Guard (ceremonial), Army of Italy (de facto)
  • Navy of Vatican City: none, see Navy of Italy
  • Air Force of Vatican City: none, see Aeronautica Militare
  • Special forces of Vatican City: none, see Special forces of Italy
• Military history of Vatican City
• Military ranks of Vatican City

Local government in Vatican City

Main article: Local government in Vatican City

• Being a city-state, the government of Vatican City is also the local government.

History of Vatican City

Main article: History of Vatican City, Timeline of the history of Vatican City, and Current events of Vatican City

• History of the Papacy
  • Prisoner in the Vatican
• Governor of Vatican City
• Economic history of Vatican City
• Military history of Vatican City
  • History of the Swiss Guard
  • Sack of Rome (1527)

Culture of Vatican City

Saint Peter's Square and beyond it Rome, as viewed from the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.

Main article: Culture of Vatican City

• Architecture of Vatican City
  • Saint Peter's Square
  • Churches in Vatican City:
    • St. Peter's Basilica
  • Palaces in Vatican City:
    • Apostolic Palace
    • Casina Pio IV
    • Domus Sanctae Marthae
    • Palazzí Pontificí
    • Torre San Giovanni
• Cuisine of Vatican City
• Ethnic minorities in Vatican City
• Festivals in Vatican City
• Humor in Vatican City
• Languages of Vatican City
• Media in Vatican City
• National symbols of Vatican City
  • Coat of arms of Vatican City
  • Flag of Vatican City
  • National anthem of Vatican City
• People of Vatican City
• Prostitution in Vatican City
• Public holidays in Vatican City
• Records of Vatican City
• Religion in Vatican City (Vatican City is the sovereign territory and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and home of the Pope)
  • Christianity
    • Catholicism
      • Roman Catholic Church
        • Vicar General for the Vatican City State
• World Heritage Sites in Vatican City: Vatican City is itself a World Heritage Site

Art in Vatican City

• Art in Vatican City
  • Vatican Museums
• Cinema of Vatican City
• Literature of Vatican City
• Music of Vatican City
• Television in Vatican City
• Theatre in Vatican City

On the last Sunday of each month, the Vatican Museum is open to the public for free. This is extremely popular and it is common to wait in line for many hours. This image is a panoramic view of one small stretch of the entire queue in April 2007, which continues for some distance in both directions beyond view. In the background is the Vatican City's wall.

Sports in Vatican City

Main article: Sports in Vatican City

• Football in Vatican City
  • Clericus Cup
  • Vatican City national football team
• Vatican City at the Olympics: has not competed

Economy and infrastructure of Vatican City

Main article: Economy of Vatican City

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007):
• Economy type: noncommercial (based on donations from church-goers)
  • Church tax
  • Peter's Pence

• Agriculture in Vatican City: None. See Vatican Gardens.
• Banking in Vatican City
  • Vatican Bank
• Communications in Vatican City
  • Internet in Vatican City
    • .va
  • L'Osservatore Romano
  • Vatican Radio
• Companies of Vatican City: none

• Currency of Vatican City: Euro (see also: Euro topics)
  • ISO 4217: EUR

• Economic history of Vatican City
• Energy policy of Vatican City
• Mining in Vatican City: none
• Oil industry in Vatican City
• Vatican Pharmacy
• Tourism in Vatican City
• Transport in Vatican City

• Vatican City Stock Exchange

Education in Vatican City

Main article: Education in Vatican City

• Academies in Vatican City:
  • Pontifical Academy of Sciences
  • Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
  • Pontifical Academy for Life
• Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican Library)
  • Includes the Vatican School of Librarianship
• Congregation for Catholic Education
• Vatican School of Palaeography, Diplomacy, and Archivistry, run by the Secret Vatican Archives.
• Vatican City is too small to host extensive educational facilities, but the Holy See operates 64 academic institutions close by (in Rome), which are often considered part of the Vatican. The major ones are:
  • Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)
  • Pontifical Gregorian University
  • Pontifical Urbaniana University
  • Pontifical Lateran University
  • Pontifical University of the Holy Cross
  • Salesian Pontifical University
  • Pontifical University Antonianum

Infrastructure of Vatican City

The Vatican Radio building.

• Energy in Vatican City
• Health care in Vatican City
• Vatican Library
• Transportation in Vatican City
  • Airports in Vatican City: none. Rome is served by two airports which are used by travellers to the Vatican.
  • Rail transport in Vatican City
  • Roads in Vatican City (see map)
    • Being only 1.05 km long and 0.85 km wide,^[4] Vatican City has no highways/
    • Vatican City has access roads and driveways. (See map)
• Water supply and sanitation in Vatican City

See also

	Vatican City portal
	Roman Catholic Church portal
	Europe portal

Main article: Vatican City

• Index of Vatican City-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of Vatican City-related topics
• Outline of Europe
• Outline of geography
• Roman Catholic Church
• Holy See

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Holy See (Vatican City)". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
2. ^ "Vatican City State". Vatican City Government. http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
3. ^ "Treaty between the Holy See and Italy."
4. ^ http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html

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