Vatican City

Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the pope. With an area of 49 hectares and a population of about 825, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population. Within the Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums.

About Vatican City in brief

Summary Vatican CityVatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the pope who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. With an area of 49 hectares and a population of about 825, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population. Within the Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state named after Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae; this is used in official documents by the Holy See, the Church and the Pope. The toponym Ager Vaticanus is attested until the 1st century AD: another toponym appeared denoting an area much more restricted: St Peter’s Square, Obelisks and Circus Gaii. In the early 1st Century AD, Nero built in her gardens a circus for his son, Caligula, called the Circus of Nero, usually called the Vatican of Nero. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after the Elderina Agrippina laid out her gardens in the early century AD, and drained the area after the death of Nero in 40th century. The current name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Cittüa del Vaticano, meaning ‘V Vatican City State’ or ‘The Vatican City’.

The Vatican City is a distinct territory under the sovereign authority and jurisdiction of the Holy see, itself a sovereign entity of international law, which maintains the city state’s temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Holy See dates back to Early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of theCatholic Church, which has approximately 1. 313 billion baptised Catholic Christians in theWorld as of 2017 in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The name “Vatican” is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum located in the general area the Romans called Ageraticanus, \”Vatican territory’”. The name was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome, located between the Janiculum, the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario, down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek. 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. It is also known as “The Vatican” and “the Vatican City City”.