Portal:Vatican City

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Vatican City (/ˈvætɪkən/ ^ⓘ), 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 Secret Archives (Latin: Archivum Secretum Vaticanum), located in Vatican City, is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having primal incumbency until death, owns the archives until the next appointed Papal successor. The archives also contain the state papers, correspondence, papal account books,^[1] and many other documents which the church has accumulated over the centuries. In the 17th century, under the orders of Pope Paul V, the Secret Archives were separated from the Vatican Library, where scholars had some very limited access to them, and remained absolutely closed to outsiders until 1881, when Pope Leo XIII opened them to researchers, of whom now more than a thousand examine its documents each year.^[2]

The use of the word "secret" in the title "Vatican Secret Archives" does not denote the modern meaning of confidentiality. Instead, it indicates that the archives are the Pope's personal property, not belonging to those of any particular department of the Roman Curia or the Holy See. The word "secret" was generally used in this sense as also reflected in phrases such as "secret servants", "secret cupbearer", "secret carver", much like an esteemed position of honor and regard comparable to a VIP.^[3]

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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 1Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 2Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 3A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 4The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 5Pasta is popular in the Vatican, being one of Pope Francis' favorite dishes. (from Culture of Vatican City)
Image 6The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 7Members 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 8Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 9An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 10Empress 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 11Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 12Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 13The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 14Cesare 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 15A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 16Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 17President 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 18Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 19A 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 20Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 21The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux is the official Patroness of the gardens. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 22Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)

Did you know?

... 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 final silent film directed by Giulia Cassini Rizzotto was partly funded by the Vatican and featured Italian aristocrats?
... 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 some Catholics considered Tom Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag" (audio featured) to be blasphemous?

...that Cædwalla of Wessex conquered southeast England during his brief 7th century reign?

...that Pope Pius XII's retention of Cesare Orsenigo (pictured left, with Hitler and von Ribbentrop) as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany is a "chief point of criticism" of his response to the Holocaust?

...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?"

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