Portal:Vatican City

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Welcome to the Vatican City Portal

Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkənˈsɪti/ ^ⓘ), officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), is a sovereign country, city-state, microstate, and enclave surrounded by, and historically a part of, Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, which is itself a sovereign entity under international law, maintaining the city-state's temporal power, governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope, the Holy See, and the Roman Curia. The country has the world's smallest land area and the smallest population, with 764 citizens as of 2023.

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. It is also the second-least populated capital in the world. 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Swiss Guards or Schweizergarde are the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. Apart from household and guard units, regular Swiss mercenary regiments have served as line troops in various armies; notably those of France, Spain and Naples up to the 19th century. In contemporary usage, the name Swiss Guards generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of Vatican City.

Various units of Swiss Guards existed for hundreds of years. The earliest such unit was the Swiss Hundred Guard (Cent Suisses) at the French court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guards regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard, (now located in the Vatican City State), was founded in 1506 and is the only Swiss Guard that still exists. In the 18th and early 19th centuries several other Swiss Guards existed for periods in various European courts.

The use of Swiss soldiers as Royal guards and as the Pontifical guard stems from the reputation of Swiss mercenaries at the time of their formation. Since Switzerland was a poor country, young men often sought their fortunes abroad. Having a reputation for discipline and loyalty, and employing revolutionary battle tactics, they were considered the most powerful troops of the 15th century, until their methods were refined by the Landsknechte in the early 16th century.

More selected articles

More...

Selected image

Credit: Владимир Шеляпин

The Gallery of Maps is a gallery located on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard in the Vatican containing a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti.

More selected pictures

Read more

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. (from Vatican City)
Image 2Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 3Members 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 4Empress 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 5A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 6Pope Francis in Vatican City, 2021 (from Vatican City)
Image 7Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 8St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. (from Vatican City)
Image 9A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
Image 10The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 11The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Vatican City)
Image 12Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Vatican City)
Image 13The shortest national railway system in the world (from Vatican City)
Image 14View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
Image 15Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
Image 16The Vatican's post office was established on 11 February 1929. (from Vatican City)
Image 17The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 18Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 19The Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico), the official residence of the Pope. Here, Benedict XVI is at the window marked by a maroon banner hanging from the windowsill at centre. (from Vatican City)
Image 20Cesare 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 21A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 22Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 23A 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 24Pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
Image 25One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
Image 26An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 27Gendarmerie car (from Vatican City)
Image 28The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from Vatican City)
Image 29Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 30President 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 31The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 32Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 33Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
Image 34Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 35The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 36Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
Image 37Territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
Image 38Image of the United Nations member state borders on a map (from Vatican City)
Image 39An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
Image 40Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 41Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 42The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from Vatican City)
Image 43The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)

Did you know?

... that Sans's boss theme, "Megalovania", was played at the Vatican as part of a circus act during an audience with Pope Francis?
... that sport in Vatican City has included cricket, calcio fiorentino, and taekwondo?
... that the Second Vatican Council tried to undo the latinization of Eastern Catholic liturgy?
... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... 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 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"?