Vatican City

Full name of country: The Holy See (Vatican City State)

Region: Europe

Official language: None (Latin is used for affairs of state)

Population: 1,000 (2019 est.)

Land area: sq km ( sq miles)

Capital: Vatican City

National anthem: "Inno e Marcia Pontificale" (Hymn and Pontifical March); often called The Pontifical Hymn, by Raffaello Lavagna/Charles-Francois Gounod

National holiday: Election Day of Pope Francis, March 13 (2013)

Population growth: 0% (2017 est.)

Time zone: UTC +1

Flag: The flag of Vatican City comprises two equally sized vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white. In the center of the white band are the crossed keys of St. Peter, over which the three-tiered papal tiara rests. Yellow represents the pope’s spiritual power, and white his worldly power.

Independence: February 11, 1929 (from Italy); note - the three treaties signed with Italy on February 11, 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Holy See and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over centuries varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to 754

Government type: ecclesiastical

Suffrage: election of the pope is limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Legal system: religious legal system based on canon (religious) law

Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent nation and the physical headquarters of the Holy See (Holy Seat). The Holy See carries the responsibility of the spiritual leadership of Roman Catholicism, as well as being a state with diplomatic responsibilities on the international stage. This is distinct from Vatican City’s more mundane and local political function, which is to oversee and conduct the Catholic Church’s properties in Rome, Italy. The pope is the head of all these entities, both spiritual and temporal.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography. 

Vatican City was officially established as a nation in 1929, by means of an historic treaty between the Archdiocese of Rome and the Italian government. The Italian government agreed to guarantee the ability of the Church and the pope to control the city-state, and to protect the safety of the pope and the people of the now tax-exempt Vatican City. In return, the Catholic Church gave up any claim to control or ownership of any territory in Italy outside the walls of Vatican City, save for thirteen buildings. These buildings are considered part of Vatican territory.

Topography

Vatican City is a roughly triangular area of land within the city of Rome, Italy, on the west bank of the Tiber River and west of the Castel Sant’Angelo (Mausoleum of Hadrian). It sits on one of the famous seven hills that are a feature of Rome’s topography. Two miles of medieval and Renaissance walls surround the roughly 44 hectares (108 acres) of geographical area that comprises Vatican City. The city-state also counts as part of its territory thirteen buildings in Rome, including churches, palaces, and other buildings, such as the famous papal summer residence of Castel Gondolfo.

Cultural Sites & Landmarks

Vatican City is home to an extensive collection of artwork, and the papacy has historically commissioned works by the best artists of the day. This has made Vatican City a living museum, with more famous art and architectural treasures per square inch than any other place in the world. For this reason, Vatican City is the only entire nation to have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in the world. It is situated over what many Christians believe is the site of the grave of St. Peter, considered the most prominent of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Its exterior and interior owe their beauty, design, and symmetry to the artists Michelangelo Buonarotti and Gianlorenzo Bernini.

St. Peter’s Square surrounds the basilica. Its most recognizable feature is perhaps the enormous colonnade that encloses the space with 144 identical columns. The square is also known for the tall obelisk at its center, brought to Rome from Egypt in the year 37 CE by the Roman Emperor Caligula (12–41 CE), and installed in front of St. Peter’s Basilica by Pope Sixtus V in 1585. Every Sunday at noon, the pope appears at a window of the Apostolic Palace that overlooks the square and administers his blessing to the people congregated there.

Pope Sixtus V was also responsible for Vatican City’s other famous site, the Sistine Chapel. The name of the chapel derives from the name Sixtus. The chapel is part of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope’s official residence.

The Sistine Chapel was constructed using the dimensions cited in the Bible for the measurements of Solomon’s Temple, known as the First Temple. However, the features for which the Sistine Chapel is best known—the magnificent painted ceiling and frescoes—were commissioned years later by Sixtus’s nephew, Pope Julius II. Michelangelo, who at first refused the task, started work on the chapel in the spring of 1508. Besides the massive scale of the undertaking—the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is 131 feet long and 43 feet wide—the job was physically grueling, as Michelangelo’s writings at the time attest. The artist had to paint from the scaffolding below the ceiling, bending backward or lying on his back with paint and plaster dripping onto his face. His first effort left him unsatisfied with the result. He had the ceiling plastered over and began again.

Michelangelo was the sole artist of the masterpiece seen in the chapel today: lively paintings that depict biblical accounts from the Book of Genesis: the Creation of the Earth, the story of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the story of Noah’s Ark. Michelangelo’s frescoes created a three-dimensional illusion that was unprecedented for its time. The work took about three years to complete.

Although the Sistine Chapel is one of the world’s top tourist attractions, it is also used for official Vatican functions. It is the site where the College of Cardinals gathers to elect a new pope. In 1980, Vatican officials decided to have the ceilings and walls of the Sistine Chapel cleaned, drawing anxious protests and ire worldwide. However, after twelve years of careful work, the chapel’s colors, muted by 450 years of candle wax and soot, were restored to their original brilliance. A new air filtration system now protects the artwork.

The Vatican Gardens, which cover about half the area of the territory of Vatican City, are only accessible to the public for special tours. Beside beautifully manicured grounds, it has areas for growing produce that are used in the pope’s kitchen and sold in the Vatican market, as well as an observatory. It is also where the heliport is located. Before the Lateran Treaty, when successive popes were protesting against the Italian government by refusing to vacate or leave the Vatican, the gardens were the only source of outdoor recreation in the city-state. In certain areas of the garden, some of the original ninth-century walls are still standing.

Government Structure

To understand the structure of the government of Vatican City, it is important to make the distinction between the city-state, the physical location, and the Holy See, the entity that directs the Catholic Church worldwide. The head of both Vatican City and the Holy See is the pope. Elected by the College of Cardinals, he is considered a monarch with absolute legislative, judicial, and executive powers over both the Holy See and Vatican City. Separate staffs administer the services of the city-state (including telecommunications, health services, and other such services) and the activities of the Holy See.

The national government concerns itself with the day-to-day internal functions of the physical territory and its relationship with the city of Rome. Executive authority is delegated to the governorate of Vatican City. The governorate consists of officials appointed by the pope for five-year terms. The various offices associated with the governorate focus on matters concerning the state’s territory, including matters of security, finances, and transportation. The governorate also oversees a security and police force. However, actions of the governorate are generally subject to approval by the pope’s secretariat of state.

Vatican City as the Holy See focuses on matters relating to Catholicism worldwide, the official activities of its leader, and the pope, as well as with diplomatic relationships with other countries. The body that advises the pope and executes governing policies is called the Roman Curia. It is made up of numerous committees called discateries. These are each charged with a different focus; for example, one is concerned with religious practices within the Catholic Church, another with rules concerning marriage and family life, and another with media and communications. The Roman Curia is comprised of some 2,500 people, among whom the most powerful are ordained priests, cardinals, and bishops.

Fascinating Facts

• The Vatican Post Office is one of the most efficient in the world. Its mail typically arrives at its destination much faster than mail sent from any post office in Rome. While only about nine hundred people live in Vatican City, more than six million pieces of mail, mostly postcards, are sent from the Vatican Post Office every year.
• The Vatican Bank’s automated teller machines (ATMs) have an option for instructions in Latin.
• The Swiss Guard—the de facto military of Vatican City that serves as the Holy See's armed forces and honor guard—is comprised entirely of unmarried male citizens of Switzerland.

Bibliography

"Holy See (Vatican City)." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 15 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

John L. Allen, Jr. All The Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks. New York: Doubleday, 2004. Print.

Bart McDowell. Inside The Vatican. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2006. Print.

Carlo Pietrangeli. Paintings in The Vatican. New York: Brown1996. Print.

Marshall, Taylor R. The Eternal City: Rome & the Origins of Catholic Christianity. Sallas: Saint John, 2012. Print.

Thavis, John. The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church. New York: Penguin, 2013. Print.