# Vatikan City

By [Alen](https://paragraph.com/@alen-3) · 2024-01-17

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**Vatican City** ([/ˈvætɪkən/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:En-us-Vatican_City.ogg)), officially the **Vatican City State** ([Italian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language): _Stato della Città del Vaticano_;[\[f\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-21) [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language): _Status Civitatis Vaticanae_),[\[g\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-22)[\[h\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-23) is a [landlocked](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country) independent [country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country),[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-24)[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-25) [city-state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City-state), [microstate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstate), and [enclave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave) within [Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome), Italy.[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-Britannica-26)[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-27) It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the [Lateran Treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty), and it is a distinct [territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory) under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the [Holy See](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See), itself a [sovereign entity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty) under [international law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law), which maintains [the city-state's temporal power and governance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_power_of_the_Holy_See), [diplomatic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Holy_See), and spiritual [independence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_the_Holy_See).[\[i\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-28)[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-lateran-29) With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres)[\[c\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-area-15) and as of 2023 a population of about 764,[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-population-16) it is the [smallest state in the world both by area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area) and [by population](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population).[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-30) As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an [ecclesiastical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical_jurisdiction) or [sacerdotal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacerdotal_state)\-[monarchical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy) state ruled by the [Pope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope), who is the [bishop of Rome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Rome) and head of the [Catholic Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church).[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-factbook-7)[\[22\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-pages-31) The highest state functionaries are all [Catholic clergy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_orders_in_the_Catholic_Church) of various origins. After the [Avignon Papacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy) (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the [Apostolic Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Palace) within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the [Quirinal Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirinal_Palace) in Rome or elsewhere. The Vatican is also a [metonym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonym) for the Holy See.

The Holy See dates back to [early Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christianity#Early_Christianity_\(c._31/33%E2%80%93324\)) and is the principal [episcopal see](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopal_see) of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptised Catholics in the world as of 2018 in the [Latin Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Church) and 23 [Eastern Catholic Churches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Catholic_Churches).[\[23\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-32) The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the [Lateran Treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Treaty) between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation,[\[24\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City#cite_note-Preamble-33) not as a vestige of the much larger [Papal States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_States) (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of [Central Italy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Italy).

Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as [St. Peter's Basilica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica), the [Sistine Chapel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel), the [Vatican Apostolic Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Library), and the [Vatican Museums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Museums). They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique [economy of Vatican City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Vatican_City) is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of [postage stamps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp) and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications. Vatican City has no taxes and items are duty-free.

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*Originally published on [Alen](https://paragraph.com/@alen-3/vatikan-city)*