Portal:Vatican City

Welcome to the Vatican City Portal

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), or the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign state and city-state. It is an enclave within Rome, seat of the Catholic Church, and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church. It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. Vatican City is governed by the See of Rome, commonly known as the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the Holy See, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, comprising the pope and the Roman Curia.

With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. It is among the least populated capitals 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...)

Selected article

The Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State (Italian: Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico) is responsible for issuing Vatican postal stamps and Vatican coins.

While Vatican stamps may only be used within the city of Rome, and the quantity of euro coins is limited by treaty with Italy (The total value of all coins minted in 2002 was restricted to €310,400),^[1] Vatican coins and stamps serve as an important sign of Vatican sovereignty, and their scarcity and design makes them popular with collectors.

Indeed, public interest in Vatican currency and stamps was considered sufficient to justify a Philatelic and Numismatic Museum (Il Museo Filatelico e Numismatico) which has been opened as part of the Vatican Museums in 2007.^[2] Two special stamps about the museum were issued at the museum opening.

Selected image

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City.

Subcategories

Select [►] to view subcategories

Vatican City

Vatican City-related lists

Buildings and structures in Vatican City

Culture of Vatican City

Economy of Vatican City

Education in Vatican City

Environment of Vatican City

Geography of Vatican City

Government of Vatican City

Health in Vatican City

History of Vatican City

Organizations based in Vatican City

Vatican City people

Politics of Vatican City

Society of Vatican City

Sport in Vatican City

Vatican City stubs

General images -

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

Image 1The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from Vatican City)
Image 2Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 3Cesare 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 4A map of the United Nations member states (from Vatican City)
Image 5The 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 6Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
Image 7Vatican City's post office was established in February 1929. (from Vatican City)
Image 81€-Vatican_Franciscus-Revers (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 9President 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 10The Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Vatican City)
Image 11Members 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 12The shortest national railway system in the world (from Vatican City)
Image 13The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Vatican City)
Image 14Pope Leo XIV, 2025 (from Vatican City)
Image 15Pope Pius XI decree and conferment of Saint Therese of France to be Patroness of the gardens, flanked by Cardinal Louis Billot. The Leonine walls, 17 May 1927. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 16The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. (from Vatican City)
Image 17The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from Vatican City)
Image 18A map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
Image 19The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 20A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 21Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 22The territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
Image 23The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 24Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 25One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
Image 26A pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
Image 27An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
Image 28St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. (from Vatican City)
Image 29Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 30View of Vatican City in the evening. (from Vatican City)
Image 31Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
Image 32Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 33Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 34An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 35A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
Image 36Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 37The Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Casina Pio IV. (from Vatican City)
Image 38A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 39A 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 40The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 41A Vatican gendarmerie car (from Vatican City)
Image 42Italian Garden (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 43Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 44The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)
Image 45A view of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
Image 46Empress 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)

Did you know?

... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... that some Catholics considered Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (audio featured) to be blasphemous?
... that Vatican Taekwondo has no registered athletes or coaches?
... that Sans's boss theme, "Megalovania", was played at the Vatican as part of a circus act during an audience with Pope Francis?
... that Vatican Cycling is the first Vatican sports governing body to be recognized by a world governing body?
... that the Vatican selected Mary Milligan in 1987 to be one of only three U.S. experts to assist the International Synod of Bishops on the Laity in Rome?

...that the 22 Bodmer Papyri from a fifth-century Egyptian monastic library near Nag Hammadi contain three plays by Menander and fragments of the Iliad, as well as early versions of the Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John?"

...that capital punishment in the Vatican City was legal (but not carried out) between 1929 and 1969?

...that a portion of the Palatine Library returned to Heidelberg in 1816, almost two centuries after it was looted from city by the Catholic League?"

Related portals

WikiProjects

Vatican City

Roman Curia Taskforce

Things to do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Seal of Vatican City State
Expand : Santo Stefano degli Abissini
Verify : Music of Vatican City

–When a task is completed, please remove it from the list.

Selected panorama

Vatican Palace: the gardens from the museum.

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

External Resources

Homepage of The Vatican

Sources

^ "Euro Vaticano". Sala Stampa della Santa Sede. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
^ The new Museum

Discover Wikipedia using portals

[SalaStampa-1] "Euro Vaticano". Sala Stampa della Santa Sede. Retrieved 2007-08-14.

[vaticanstate-2] The new Museum

[1]

[2]