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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... )
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The
Vatican Gardens (
Italian :
Giardini Vaticani ) in
Vatican City are urban
gardens and
parks which cover more than half of the Vatican territory in the South and Northeast. There are some buildings such as
Radio Vatican within the gardens.
The gardens cover approximately 23 hectares (57 acres) which is most of the Vatican Hill . The highest point is 60 metres (200 ft) above mean sea level . Stone walls bound the area in the North, South and West.
The gardens and parks were established during the Renaissance and Baroque era and are decorated with fountains and sculptures. There are several springs under the earth which as of 2009 are not in use. There is a wide variety of flora , and the area is considered a biotope .
Credit: George Peter Alexander Healy
Vatican during the Savoyard Era 1870-1929 describes the relation of the Vatican to Italy , after 1870, which marked the end of the Papal State and 1929, when the papacy regained autonomy in the Lateran Treaty .
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The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Pasta is popular in the Vatican, being one of
Pope Francis ' favorite dishes. (from
Culture of Vatican City )
Image 2 Map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 3 Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 4 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 5 An
ATM in Vatican City with
Latin instructions (from
Economy of Vatican City )
Image 6 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 7 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 8 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 10 Armenian cross monument (
Khatchkar ) inside the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 11 Part of the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 12 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 13 Bernardino Nogara , the chief Vatican financier during the war (from
Vatican City during World War II )
Image 14 The Fountain of the Eagle "
Fontana dell'Aquilone " in the Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 15 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 16 The crowds of tourists in
St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from
Crime in Vatican City )
Image 17 Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from
Geography of Vatican City )
Image 19 Vatican Gardens (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
Image 20 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 )
Image 21 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 22 The
Little Flower ,
Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from
Gardens of Vatican City )
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Saint Peter's Square
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