{{Short description|Enclaved Holy See's independent city-state}}
{{About|the city-state in Europe|the city-state's government|Holy See}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-pc | small=yes}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=December 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Vatican City State
| native_name = {{native name|it| Stato della Città del Vaticano}}{{ubl|{{native name|la|Status Civitatis Vaticanae}}}}
| image_flag = [[File:Flag of Vatican City State - 2023 version.svg|frameless|100px|border|class=pageimage]]
| flag_width = 100
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Vatican City State - 2023 version.svg
| symbol_width = 85px
| coa_size = 1000
| symbol_type = [[Coat of arms of Vatican City|Coat of arms]]
| common_name = Vatican City
| other_symbol = {{vunblist |{{native name|it|Sigillo dello Stato della Città del Vaticano}}<br />{{native name|la|Sigillum Status Civitatis Vaticanae}}}}{{small|[[Politics of Vatican City#Judiciary|National Seal of Vatican City]]}}<br />[[File:Seal of the State of Vatican City.svg|100px]]
| other_symbol_type = National Seal
| national_anthem = {{native name|it|[[Pontifical Anthem|Inno Pontificio]]}}<br />"Pontifical Hymn"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{center| }}</div>[[File:United States Navy Band - Inno e Marcia Pontificale.ogg|noicon|center]]
| image_map = [[File:Vatican Europe Location.svg|frameless|250px|class=notpageimage]]
| map_width = 250px
| map_caption = Location of the Vatican City in Europe
| capital = Vatican City<br />([[city-state]])
| coordinates = {{Coord|41|54.2|N|12|27.2|E|type:city|display=inline}}<!-- Since there is no "capital city", coords won't work in infobox. The coordinates that appear in the upper right of the article can be edited near the end of the article wikitext (see [[MOS:ORDER]] before moving them)-->
| official_languages = [[Italian language|Italian]]<ref>According to paragraph 2 of the ''Law on the Sources of Law'' of 7 June 1929, all laws and state regulations are published in Italian in the ''Supplement for the Laws and Regulations of the State of Vatican City'', attached to the ''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]]''. The text of the first seven points published in the supplement is provided here: {{cite web|url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/FBFEA0E8-B43A-452A-AAA0-1AF49590F658/2615/Supplemento.pdf|title=ACTA APOSTOLIGAE SEDIS SUPPLEMENTO PER LE LEGGI E DISPOSIZIONI DELLO STATO DELLA CITTÀ DEL VATICANO|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227194112/http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/FBFEA0E8-B43A-452A-AAA0-1AF49590F658/2615/Supplemento.pdf|archive-date=27 December 2010|language=it}}</ref>{{efn|Italian is the official working language of Vatican City. The Holy See's official language is Latin, with French the international diplomatic language.<ref name="o825">{{cite web | title=About the Holy See | website=GAC | date=2022-07-20 | url=https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/holy_see-saint-siege/about-a_propos.aspx?lang=eng | access-date=2026-06-09}}</ref>}}
| languages_type = [[National language]]
| languages = Italian (''[[de facto]]'')<br />[[Latin language|Latin]] (''[[de jure]]'' at [[Holy See]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19670815_regimini-ecclesiae-universae_it.html |title=Regimini Ecclesiae Universae, I, I, 10 |access-date=28 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625053927/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19670815_regimini-ecclesiae-universae_it.html |archive-date=25 June 2009 |url-status=live |language=Italian}}</ref><!-- While the Holy See uses [[Latin]] in official documents, Vatican City State uses Italian only -->
| government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] theocratic [[elective monarchy|elective]] absolute monarchy
| leader_title1 = [[Sovereignty|Sovereign entity]]
| leader_name1 = [[Holy See]]
| leader_title2 = [[Pope]]
| leader_name2 = {{current leader|VAT|pope|format=short}}<!-- DO NOT CHANGE. This will automatically update to the current pope - or, if the office is vacant, after a new one is elected. -->
| leader_title3 = [[President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State|President of the Governorate]]
| leader_name3 = [[Raffaella Petrini]]
| legislature = [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State|Pontifical Commission]]{{efn|All powers delegated by the sovereign<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative and Executive Bodies |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/StateDepartments/Legislative_and_executive_bodies.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524024314/http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/StateDepartments/Legislative_and_executive_bodies.htm |archive-date=24 May 2011 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=[[Vatican City State]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pope John Paul II |author-link=Pope John Paul II |date=26 November 2000 |title=Fundamental Law of Vatican City State |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/3F574885-EAD5-47E9-A547-C3717005E861/2522/FundamentalLaw1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226203911/http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/3F574885-EAD5-47E9-A547-C3717005E861/2522/FundamentalLaw1.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2008 |access-date=17 April 2022 |publisher=[[Vatican City State]]}}</ref>}}
| sovereignty_type = [[Roman question|Establishment]]
| established_event1 = [[Lateran Treaty]]
| established_date1 = 11 February 1929{{Efn|The Lateran Treaty was ratified,<ref name="Ekpo 2024 8">{{Cite book |last=Ekpo |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ow4IEQAAQBAJ&dq=%22ratified+on+June+7,+1929%22&pg=PA8 |title=The Roman Curia: History, Theology, and Organization |date=2024 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |isbn=978-1-64712-436-6 |location=Washington, DC |page=8 |language=en}}</ref> and took effect, on 7 June 1929.<ref name="Lateran Treaty">{{Cite web |title=Lateran Treaty |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Lateran-Treaty |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318082705/https://www.britannica.com/event/Lateran-Treaty |archive-date=18 March 2025 |access-date=25 March 2025 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>}}
| established_event2 =
| established_date2 =
| area_km2 = 0.49{{efn|name=area|The [[:it:Calendario Atlante De Agostini|De Agostini Atlas Calendar]] listed the area of Vatican City as 44{{spaces}}ha (0.44 km²) in its 1930 edition<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=JqlIZ70Jn9gC&q=vaticano De Agostini Atlas Calendar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603042457/https://books.google.com/books?id=JqlIZ70Jn9gC&q=vaticano |date=3 June 2020 }}, 1930, p. 99. {{in lang|it}}</ref> but corrected it to 49{{spaces}}ha (0.49 km²) in its 1945–1946 edition.<ref name="agostini1945">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpJXsBX_6uUC&q=vaticano De Agostini Atlas Calendar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603173403/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpJXsBX_6uUC&q=vaticano |date=3 June 2020 }}, 1945–1946, p. 128. {{in lang|it}}</ref>}}
| area_rank = 195th<!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| population_estimate = 882<ref name="population">{{Cite web |date=31 December 2024 |title=Population |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/note-generali/popolazione.html |publisher=Vatican City State |language=it}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_estimate_rank = 195th
| population_density_km2 = 2205
| population_density_sq_mi = 4662
| population_density_rank = 6th
| Gini = <!--number only-->
| Gini_year =
| Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref =
| Gini_rank =
| HDI = <!--number only-->
| HDI_year =
| HDI_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref =
| HDI_rank =
| currency = [[Euro]] ([[Euro sign|€]])
| currency_code = EUR
| time_zone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| time_zone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| drives_on = right{{efn|1=Visitors and tourists are not permitted to drive inside the Vatican City without specific permission, which is normally granted to only those on official business inside the Vatican City.}}
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Vatican City|+379]]{{efn|1=[[ITU-T]] assigned code 379 to Vatican City. However, Vatican City is included in the Italian telephone numbering plan and uses the Italian country code 39, followed by 06 (for Rome) and 698.}}
| iso3166code = VA
| cctld = [[.va]]
| religion = [[Catholicism]]<br />([[state religion]])
| sport_code =
| demonym = None (''de jure'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican City :: Italy Explained |url=https://italyexplained.com/italy-cities-regions/vatican-city/#:~:text=The%20Italian%20name%20for%20Vatican,is%20really%20%E2%80%9Cfrom%E2%80%9D%20there |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529044152/https://italyexplained.com/italy-cities-regions/vatican-city/#:~:text=The%20Italian%20name%20for%20Vatican,is%20really%20%E2%80%9Cfrom%E2%80%9D%20there |archive-date=29 May 2023 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref><br />Vatican (''de facto'')
| GDP_PPP = €14,859,970
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = €19,450.22
| GDP_PPP_year = 2021
| today =
| footnotes = {{notelist}}
}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| ID = 286
| criteria = Cultural: i, ii, iv, vi
| year = 1984
| image = Vatikanische Gaerten Museen Rom.jpg
| caption = Vatican City
}}

'''Vatican City''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Vatican City.ogg|ˈ|v|æ|t|ɪ|k|ə|n|_|ˈ|s|ɪ|t|i}}}}{{efn|Sometimes "the Vatican City".<!--as is also sometimes used in this article-->}} officially the '''Vatican City State''' ({{langx|it|Stato della Città del Vaticano}};{{efn|1={{lang|it|Stato della Città del Vaticano}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stato della Città del Vaticano |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119071357/https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/ |archive-date=19 January 2020 |access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=La Santa Sede |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/it.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208130834/https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/it.html |archive-date=8 December 2021 |access-date=7 December 2021 |website=Vatican.va}}</ref> ({{IPA|it|ˈstaːto della tʃitˈta ddel vatiˈkaːno}}) is the name used in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120822001817/https://www.vatican.va/vatican_city_state/legislation/documents/scv_doc_20001126_legge-fondamentale-scv_it.html the text] of the state's [[Constitution|Fundamental Law]] and in [https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en.html the state's official website].}} {{langx|la|Status Civitatis Vaticanae}}),{{efn|1=The [[Latin spelling and pronunciation#Ecclesiastical pronunciation|ecclesiastical]], and therefore official, pronunciation is {{IPA|la|ˈstatus tʃiviˈtatis vatiˈkane|}}; the [[Latin spelling and pronunciation#Classical pronunciation|classical]] one is {{IPA|la|ˈstatʊs kiːwɪˈtaːtɪs waːtɪˈkaːnae̯|}}.}}{{efn|In the languages used by the [[Secretariat of State (Holy See)|Secretariat of State]] of the [[Holy See]] (except English, Latin and Italian, as already mentioned above):
* {{langx|fr|Cité du Vatican}}—{{lang|fr|État de la Cité du Vatican}}
* {{langx|de|Vatikanstadt}}, cf. {{lang|de|Vatikan}}—{{lang|de|Staat Vatikanstadt}} (in Austria: {{lang|de|Staat der Vatikanstadt}})
* {{langx|pl|Miasto Watykańskie}}, cf. {{lang|pl|Watykan}}—{{lang|pl|Państwo Watykańskie}}
* {{langx|pt|Cidade do Vaticano}}—{{lang|pt|Estado da Cidade do Vaticano}}
* {{langx|es|Ciudad del Vaticano}}—{{lang|es|Estado de la Ciudad del Vaticano}}.}} often shortened as '''the Vatican''', is a [[Landlocked country|landlocked]] sovereign [[city-state]] in [[Southern Europe]]. Ruled by the [[pope]], it is an [[enclave]] within the city of [[Rome]], Italy, and serves as the administrative centre of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Vatican City |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Vatican-City |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318193720/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/623972/Vatican-City |archive-date=18 March 2015 |access-date=18 May 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |ref=121}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 November 2018 |title=Vatican country profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17994868 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825011001/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17994868 |archive-date=25 August 2018 |access-date=24 August 2018 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Vatican City is governed by the [[episcopal see|See]] of [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]], commonly known as the [[Holy See]], itself a [[Legal status of the Holy See|sovereign entity under international law]], which maintains [[Temporal power of the Holy See|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]].<ref name="lateran">{{Cite web |title=Text of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 |url=https://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225060950/http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref> The independent state of Vatican City came into existence in 1929 via the [[Lateran Treaty]] between the Holy See and the [[Kingdom of Italy]], which spoke of it as a creation,<ref name="Preamble" /> not as a vestige of the much larger [[Papal States]] (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of [[Central Italy]].

With an area of {{Convert|44|ha|0}}<ref name="o825"/> and a population of about 882<ref name="population" /> in 2024, it is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|smallest sovereign state in the world both by area]] and [[List of countries and dependencies by population|by population]]. It is the only country in the world with a population of fewer than 1,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 September 2021 |title=Europe :: Holy See (Vatican City) — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |archive-date=26 January 2022 |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=www.cia.gov}}</ref> It is among the [[List of national capitals by population|least populated capitals]] in the world. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an [[Ecclesiastical jurisdiction|ecclesiastical]] or [[Sacerdotal state|sacerdotal]]-[[Monarchy|monarchical]] state ruled by the pope, who is the [[bishop of Rome]] and head of the Catholic Church; the highest state functionaries are all [[Holy orders in the Catholic Church|Catholic clergy]] of various origins.<ref name="factbook">{{Cite web |date=22 September 2021 |title=Holy See (Vatican City) |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |archive-date=26 January 2022 |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=CIA—The World Factbook}}</ref><ref name="pages">{{Cite web |title=Vatican City |url=https://www.catholic-pages.com/vatican/vatican_city.asp |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322135430/http://www.catholic-pages.com/vatican/vatican_city.asp |archive-date=22 March 2019 |access-date=12 August 2013 |publisher=Catholic-Pages.com}}</ref> The Holy See dates to [[early Christianity]] and is the principal [[episcopal see]] of the Catholic Church, which in 2018 had about 1.329{{spaces}}billion baptized Catholics in the world, in the [[Latin Church]] and 23 [[Eastern Catholic Churches]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 March 2020 |title=Catholics increasing worldwide, reaching 1.329 billion |url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Catholics-increasing-worldwide,-reaching-1.329-billion-49663.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414050802/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Catholics-increasing-worldwide,-reaching-1.329-billion-49663.html |archive-date=14 April 2021 |access-date=9 March 2021 |agency=[[AsiaNews]]}}</ref> After the [[Avignon Papacy]] (1309{{ndash}}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.

Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter's Basilica]], the [[Sistine Chapel]], the [[Vatican Library|Vatican Apostolic Library]], and the [[Vatican Museums]]. They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The [[economy of Vatican City]] is supported financially by [[Peter's Pence|donations from Catholic believers]], by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications. Vatican City has no taxes, and items are duty-free.

== Name ==
The name ''{{linktext|Vatican City}}'' was first used in the [[Lateran Treaty]], signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state named after [[Vatican Hill]], the geographic location of the state within the city of [[Rome]]. ''Vatican'' itself is derived from the name of an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] settlement, {{lang|la|Vatica}} or {{lang|la|Vaticum}}, located in the general area the Romans called {{lang|la|[[Ager Vaticanus]]}} ('Vatican territory').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=L. |title=New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome |date=October 1992 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=0-8018-4300-6 |location=Baltimore |page=405}}</ref>

The [[Italian language|Italian-language]] name of the city is {{lang|it|Città del Vaticano}} or, more formally, {{lang|it|Stato della Città del Vaticano}}, meaning 'State of Vatican City'. Its [[Latin]] name is {{lang|la|Status Civitatis Vaticanae}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apostolic Constitution |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19451208_vacantis-apostolicae-sedis.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912234026/http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19451208_vacantis-apostolicae-sedis.html |archive-date=12 September 2020 |access-date=3 August 2020 |language=la}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pope Francis |date=8 September 2014 |title=Letter to John Cardinal Lajolo |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/la/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140908_lettera-card-giovanni-lajolo.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418013034/http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/la/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140908_lettera-card-giovanni-lajolo.html |archive-date=18 April 2015 |access-date=28 May 2015 |publisher=The Vatican |language=la}}</ref> this is used in official documents by the [[Holy See]], the Church and the [[pope]].

== History ==
{{further|History of the Papacy|Holy See#History}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Obelisk of St. Peter.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|The [[Vatican obelisk]] in [[St. Peter's Square]] was brought to Rome from [[Egypt]] by [[Caligula]].]]

The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the [[Roman Republic]] for the ''[[Ager Vaticanus]]'', a [[marsh]]y area on the west bank of the [[Tiber]] across from the city of Rome, located between the [[Janiculum]], the [[Vatican Hill]] and [[Monte Mario]], down to the [[Aventine Hill]] and up to the confluence of the [[Cremera]] creek.<ref name="Liverani 2016 21">{{harvnb|Liverani |2016|p=21}}</ref> The toponym ''Ager Vaticanus'' is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, ''Vaticanus'', denoting an area much more restricted: the Vatican Hill, today's [[St. Peter's Square]], and possibly today's [[Via della Conciliazione]].<ref name="Liverani 2016 21" /> Because of its vicinity to Rome's archenemy, the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] city of [[Veii]] (another naming for the ''Ager Vaticanus'' was ''Ripa Veientana'' or ''Ripa Etrusca''), and for being subjected to the floods of the Tiber, the Romans considered this originally uninhabited part of Rome dismal and ominous.<ref>{{harvnb|Petacco|2016|p=11}}</ref>

The particularly low quality of Vatican wine, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet [[Martial]] ([[Anno Domini|AD]]{{spaces}}40 – {{c.|AD 102}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Damien Martin, "Wine and Drunkenness in Roman Society" |url=https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/8100/research.pdf?sequence=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918040152/https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/8100/research.pdf?sequence=3 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |access-date=27 August 2013}}</ref> [[Tacitus]] wrote that in AD{{spaces}}69, the [[Year of the Four Emperors]], when the northern army that brought [[Vitellius]] to power arrived in Rome, "a large proportion camped in the unhealthy districts of the Vatican, which resulted in many deaths among the common soldiery; and the Tiber being close by, the inability of the [[Gauls]] and Germans to bear the heat and the consequent greed with which they drank from the stream weakened their bodies, which were already an easy prey to disease".<ref>Tacitus, ''The Histories'', II, 93, translation by Clifford H. Moore (The Loeb Classical Library, first printed 1925)</ref>

[[File:Plan of Circus Neronis and St. Peters.gif|thumb|An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and [[Old Saint Peter's Basilica|the medieval]] and [[St Peter's Basilica|current Basilicas of St. Peter]]]]
[[File:Circus of Nero.png|thumb|One possible modern interpretation<ref>Based on "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100305113143/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/images.htm Outline of St. Peter's, Old St. Peter's, and Circus of Nero]".</ref>]]

During the [[Roman Empire]], many [[villa]]s were constructed there, after [[Agrippina the Elder]] (14{{spaces}}BC – 18 October AD{{spaces}}33) drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early-1st century AD. In AD{{spaces}}40 her son, the emperor [[Caligula]], built in her gardens a circus for charioteers. It was later completed by the emperor [[Nero]] and named the {{lang|la|Circus Gaii et Neronis}},<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lanciani |first1=Rodolfo Amedeo |title=Pagan and Christian Rome |date=1892 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |page=127 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTwDf850gEYC&pg=PA127 |language=en}}</ref> usually called, simply, the [[Circus of Nero]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican City in the Past |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/storia/la-citta-del-vaticano-nel-tempo.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528110717/http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/storia/la-citta-del-vaticano-nel-tempo.html |archive-date=28 May 2019 |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref>

The [[Vatican obelisk]] in St Peter's Square is the last visible remnant from the [[Circus of Nero]]. It was brought from [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] in [[Roman Egypt]] by the emperor [[Caligula]]. The obelisk originally stood at the centre of the ''spina'' ([[Median strip|median]]) of the [[Roman circus]].<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], [[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]] XVI.76.</ref> The circus became the site of martyrdom for many Christians after the [[Great Fire of Rome]] in AD{{spaces}}64. Tradition states that it was in this circus that [[Saint Peter]] was [[Cross of St. Peter|crucified upside-down]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm#IV |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915021152/http://newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm#IV |archive-date=15 September 2019 |access-date=12 August 2013 |publisher=Catholic Encyclopedia}}</ref> In 1586, the obelisk was moved to its current position by [[Pope Sixtus V]], using a method devised by the Italian architect [[Domenico Fontana]].<ref name="Tafur">''[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/tafur.html#ch3 Travels and Adventures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629042823/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/tafur.html#ch3|date=29 June 2011}}'', Chapter 3, [[Pero Tafur]], digitized from [[The Broadway Travellers]] series, edited by Sir [[E. Denison Ross]] and [[Eileen Power]], translated and edited with an introduction by [[Malcolm Letts]] (New York, London: Harper & brothers 1926)</ref>

Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the [[Via Cornelia]]. Funeral monuments, mausoleums, small tombs, and altars to pagan gods of all kinds of polytheistic religions, were constructed before the construction of the [[Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter]] in the first half of the 4th century. A shrine dedicated to the [[Phrygians|Phrygian]] goddess [[Cybele]] and her consort [[Attis]] remained active long after the ancient Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Altar dedicated to Cybele and Attis |url=https://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/x-Schede/MGEs/MGEs_Sala16_03_040.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124211312/http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/x-Schede/MGEs/MGEs_Sala16_03_040.html |archive-date=24 January 2012 |access-date=26 August 2013 |publisher=Vatican Museums}}</ref> Remains of this ancient [[necropolis]] were discovered during renovations by popes throughout the centuries, increasing in frequency during the [[Renaissance]] until it was systematically excavated from 1939 to 1941 on the order of [[Pope Pius XII]].

The Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the [[Saint Peter's tomb|tomb of Saint Peter]], buried in that cemetery.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=37b9V9IXDsYC&dq=Gardner+%22reputed+grave%22&pg=PA126 Fred S. Kleiner, ''Gardner's Art through the Ages'' (Cengage Learning 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912151621/https://books.google.com/books?id=37b9V9IXDsYC&pg=PA126&dq=Gardner+%22reputed+grave%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A3gQUqPdOYWThgeirYCgDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Gardner%20%22reputed%20grave%22&f=false |date=12 September 2015 }} {{ISBN|978-1-13395479-8}}), p. 126</ref> From then on, the land mass became more populated in connection with activity at the basilica. A palace was constructed nearby as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of [[Pope Symmachus]] (reigned 498–514).<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Vatican |encyclopedia=Columbia Encyclopedia |url=https://www.bartleby.com/65/va/Vatican.html |date=2001–2005 |edition=Sixth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207064352/https://www.bartleby.com/65/va/Vatican.html |archive-date=7 February 2006}}</ref> The [[Leonine Wall]] was constructed by Pope Leo IV following the [[Arab raid against Rome|sacking by Muslim raiders]] of [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] in 846.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hodges |first1=Richard |last2=Whitehouse |first2=David |title=Mohammed, Charlemagne & the Origins of Europe |date=1983 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-9262-9 |page=168}}</ref>

=== Papal States ===
{{Main|Papal States}}

{{See also|History of the Papacy}}

[[File:Italia 1796-en.svg|thumb|upright|Map of the Italian peninsula in 1796, showing the Papal States in central Italy coloured purple]]

Popes gradually came to have a secular role as governors of regions near Rome. They ruled the [[Papal States]], which covered a large portion of the [[Italian Peninsula]], for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the [[Italian unification|newly created]] [[Kingdom of Italy]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

For most of this time, the popes did not live at the Vatican. The [[Lateran Palace]], on the opposite side of Rome, was their habitual residence for about a thousand years. From 1309 to 1377, they lived in [[Avignon]] in France. On their return to Rome, they chose to live at the Vatican. They moved to the [[Quirinal Palace]] in 1583, after work on it was completed under [[Pope Paul V]] (1605–1621). In 1870, after the [[capture of Rome]], popes have lived in the Vatican. Their prior residence at the Quirinal Palace was taken over by the [[King of Italy]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

=== Under Italian rule (1871–1929) ===
{{Main|Roman Question}}

In 1870 the pope's holdings were left in an uncertain situation when [[capture of Rome|Rome was annexed]] by Italian forces, bringing to completion the [[Italian unification]], after a nominal resistance by the papal forces. Between 1861 and 1929, the status of the pope of Rome was referred to as the "Roman Question".{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

While Italy abstained from intervening within the immediate boundaries of the Vatican, the state systematically confiscated church property throughout the rest of the peninsula. In 1871 the Quirinal Palace was confiscated by the [[king of Italy]] and became the royal palace. Thereafter, the popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls, and certain papal [[prerogative]]s were recognized by the [[Law of Guarantees]], including the right to send and receive ambassadors. The popes did not recognize the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929. [[Pope Pius IX]] (1846–1878), the last ruler of the Papal States, was referred to as a "[[prisoner in the Vatican]]". Forced to give up secular power, the popes focused on spiritual issues.<ref name="World History">{{Cite book |last=Wetterau |first=Bruce |url=https://archive.org/details/worldhistorydict00wett |title=World History: A Dictionary of Important People, Places, and Events, from Ancient Times to the Present |date=1994 |publisher=Henry Holt & Co. |isbn=978-0-8050-2350-3 |location=New York}}</ref>

=== Lateran treaties ===
{{Main|Lateran Treaty}}

This situation was resolved on 11 February 1929, when the [[Lateran Treaty]] between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy was signed by [[Prime Minister of Italy|Prime Minister and Head of Government]] [[Benito Mussolini]] on behalf of King [[Victor Emmanuel III]] and by [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] [[Pietro Gasparri]] for [[Pope Pius XI]].<ref name="Preamble">{{Cite web |title=Preamble of the Lateran Treaty |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/dam/vaticanstate/documenti/leggi-e-decreti/Normative-Penali-e-Amministrative/LateranTreaty.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010175158/https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/dam/vaticanstate/documenti/leggi-e-decreti/Normative-Penali-e-Amministrative/LateranTreaty.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=21 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="lateran" /><ref name="Statute">{{Cite web |title=Patti lateranensi, 11 febbraio 1929 – Segreteria di Stato, card. Pietro Gasparri |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/archivio/documents/rc_seg-st_19290211_patti-lateranensi_it.html#TRATTATO_FRA_LA_SANTA_SEDE_E_L%E2%80%99ITALIA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119131557/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/archivio/documents/rc_seg-st_19290211_patti-lateranensi_it.html#TRATTATO_FRA_LA_SANTA_SEDE_E_L%E2%80%99ITALIA |archive-date=19 January 2021 |access-date=5 April 2020 |website=The Holy See}}</ref> The treaty, which was ratified<ref name="Ekpo 2024 8" /> and took effect on 7 June 1929,<ref name="Lateran Treaty" /> established the independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy.<ref name=Statute/>

=== World War II ===
{{Main|Vatican City in World War II}}

[[File:The British Army in Italy 1944 NA16179.jpg|thumb|Musicians of the [[British Army during the Second World War|British Army]]'s [[38th (Irish) Brigade]] playing in front of [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in June 1944]]

The Holy See, which governed the Vatican City, pursued a policy of neutrality during [[World War II]] under the leadership of [[Pope Pius XII]]. [[Nazi Germany|German]] troops occupied Rome after the September 1943 [[Armistice of Cassibile]], with [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces pushing them out in 1944. Both sides respected the Vatican City's status as [[neutral territory]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rome |url=https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005446 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215103412/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005446 |archive-date=15 December 2013 |access-date=12 December 2013 |publisher=Ushmm.org}}</ref>

One of the main diplomatic priorities of Pius XII was to prevent the bombing of Rome. A high level of sensitivity led him to protest even the dropping of pamphlets over Rome by the [[Royal Air Force]], claiming that the few which landed within the Vatican City violated its neutrality.{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|pp=222–232}} The British government's policy towards the Vatican, as expressed in the minutes of a Cabinet meeting, was "that we should on no account molest the Vatican City, but that our action as regards the rest of Rome would depend upon how far the Italian government observed the rules of war".{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|pp=222–232}}

After the United States entered into the war, US officials were against bombing the Vatican City, fearful of offending Catholic members of the American military, but said that "they could not stop the British from bombing Rome if the British so decided". The US military even exempted Catholic servicemembers from air raids on Rome and other areas with a significant Catholic presence, unless they voluntarily agreed to participate. Notably, with the exception of Rome, and presumably the possibility of the Vatican, no Catholic US servicemember refused a mission within German-held Italy. On the other hand, the British insisted "they would bomb Rome whenever the needs of the war demanded".{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|pp=232–236}}

In December 1942, the British envoy to the Holy See suggested that Rome be declared an [[open city]], a suggestion that the Holy See took more seriously than was probably meant by the envoy, who did not want Rome to be an open city. Mussolini rejected the suggestion when the Holy See put it to him. In connection with the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], 500 [[United States Army Air Forces]] aircraft [[Bombing of Rome in World War II|bombed Rome on 19 July 1943]], targeting Rome's railway hub in particular. Approximately 1,500 people were killed, and Pius XII, who had been described in the previous month as "worried sick" about the possibility of Rome being bombed, toured the affected areas. Another Allied bombing raid took place on 13 August 1943, after Mussolini had been [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|ousted from power]].{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|pp=236–244}} The following day, the new Italian government declared Rome an open city, after consulting the Holy See on the wording of the declaration.{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|pp=244–245}}

=== Post-war history ===
[[File:St Peter's Square, Vatican City - April 2007.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A view of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome]]

Pius XII refrained from creating [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]] during the war. By the end of World War II, there were several prominent vacancies: [[Cardinal Secretary of State]], [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church|Camerlengo]], [[Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church|Chancellor]], and Prefect for the [[Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life|Congregation for the Religious]] among them.{{Sfn|Chadwick|1988|p=304}} Pius XII [[Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII in 1946|created 32 cardinals in early 1946]], having announced his intention to do so in his preceding Christmas message.

In 1970, the [[Military in Vatican City|Pontifical Military Corps]], except for the [[Swiss Guard]], was disbanded by [[Pope Paul VI|Paul VI]].<ref name="Vatican State" /> The [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City|Gendarmerie Corps]] was transformed into a civilian police and security force.

In 1984, a new [[concordat]] between the Holy See and Italy modified provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Catholic Christianity as the Italian state religion, a position given to it by a statute of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] of 1848.<ref name="Statute" />

In 1995, construction of a new guest house, [[Domus Sanctae Marthae]], adjacent to [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter's Basilica]] was criticized by Italian environmental groups, backed by Italian politicians. They claimed the new building would block views of the Basilica from nearby Italian apartments.<ref name="guest house">{{Cite book |last=Thavis |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/vaticandiariesbe0000thav |title=The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church |publisher=Viking |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-670-02671-5 |location=NY |pages=[https://archive.org/details/vaticandiariesbe0000thav/page/121 121–122] |url-access=registration}}</ref> For a short while the plans strained the relations between the Vatican and the Italian government. The head of the Vatican's Department of Technical Services robustly rejected challenges to the Vatican State's right to build within its borders.<ref name="guest house" />

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Vatican City}}

[[File:Vatican City map EN.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|A map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens]]

The territory of Vatican City is part of the Vatican Hill, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter's Basilica]], the [[Apostolic Palace]], the [[Sistine Chapel]], and museums were built, along with other buildings. The area was part of the Roman ''[[rione]]'' of [[borgo (rione of Rome)|Borgo]] until 1929. Being separated from Rome, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of Rome that was protected by being included within the walls of [[Pope Leo IV|Leo IV]] (847–855), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under [[Pope Paul III|Paul III]] (1534–1549), [[Pope Pius IV|Pius IV]] (1559–1565), and [[Pope Urban VIII|Urban VIII]] (1623–1644).<ref>{{Citation |title=Holy See (Vatican City) |date=28 December 2022 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |archive-date=26 January 2022 |url-status=dead |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:VaticanCity Annex.jpg|thumb|The territory of Vatican City State according to the [[Lateran Treaty]]]]

When the [[Lateran Treaty]] of 1929 that gave the state its form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of the boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed.<ref>Lateran Treaty of 1929, Article 3</ref>

The territory includes [[St. Peter's Square|St Peter's Square]], distinguished from the territory of [[Italy]] only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio{{spaces}}XII. St. Peter's Square is reached through the [[Via della Conciliazione]] which runs from close to the Tiber to St Peter's. This grand approach was constructed by [[Benito Mussolini]] after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty. St Peter's Square is also partially encircled by the [[Ricciolo d'Italia]], a small strip of Italian territory.<ref name="inftub">{{Cite web |title=La città del Vaticano |trans-title=The Vatican City |url=https://www.inftub.com/geografia/La-citt-del-Vaticano92583.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710042234/https://www.inftub.com/geografia/La-citt-del-Vaticano92583.php |archive-date=July 10, 2023 |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.inftub.com}}</ref>

According to the Lateran Treaty, certain [[properties of the Holy See]] that are located in Italian territory, most notably the [[Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo]] and the [[major basilica]]s, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign [[diplomatic mission|embassies]].<ref name=Statute/><ref name="treaty text" /> These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See.<ref name="treaty text">Lateran Treaty of 1929, Articles 13–16</ref>

Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City|police agents of Vatican City State]] and not by [[Law enforcement in Italy|Italian police]]. According to the Lateran Treaty, St. Peter's Square, up to but not including the steps leading to the basilica, is normally patrolled by the Italian police.<ref name=Statute/>

There are no passport controls for visitors entering Vatican City from the surrounding Italian territory. There is free public access to Saint Peter's Square and Basilica and, on the occasion of papal general audiences, to the hall in which they are held. For these audiences and for major ceremonies in Saint Peter's Basilica and Square, tickets free of charge must be obtained beforehand. The [[Vatican Museums]], incorporating the Sistine Chapel, usually charge an entrance fee. There is no general public access to the gardens. Guided tours for small groups can be arranged to the gardens and excavations under [[Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls|the basilica]]. Other Vatican locations are open only to individuals who have business to transact there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Useful Information |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en/info.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121054203/https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en/info.html |archive-date=21 November 2019 |access-date=4 January 2023 |website=The Holy See}}</ref>

{{Panorama
| image = Pano-P7264747-P7264763 (3189867).jpg
| height = 230
| alt = St. Peter's Square, the basilica and obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII
| caption = {{center|St. Peter's Square, the basilica and obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII}}
}}

=== Climate ===
Vatican City's climate is the same as Rome's: a [[Temperate climate|temperate]], [[Mediterranean climate]] ''[[Hot-summer Mediterranean climate|Csa]]''. It has mild, rainy winters from October to mid-May, and hot, dry summers from May to September. Some minor local features, principally mists and dews, are caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains, and the size of the large paved square. The highest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|40.8|C|F|abbr=on}} on 28 June 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican City 2022 Past Weather (Vatican City) – Weather Spark |url=https://weatherspark.com/h/y/71896/2022/Historical-Weather-during-2022-in-Vatican-City |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211132538/https://weatherspark.com/h/y/71896/2022/Historical-Weather-during-2022-in-Vatican-City |archive-date=11 December 2023 |access-date=18 December 2023}}</ref>
{{Weather box
| location = Vatican City ([[Rome Ciampino Airport]])
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan record high C = 19.8
| Feb record high C = 21.2
| Mar record high C = 26.6
| Apr record high C = 27.2
| May record high C = 33.0
| Jun record high C = 37.8
| Jul record high C = 40.8
| Aug record high C = 40.7
| Sep record high C = 38.4
| Oct record high C = 30.0
| Nov record high C = 25.0
| Dec record high C = 20.2
| Jan high C = 11.9
| Feb high C = 13.0
| Mar high C = 15.2
| Apr high C = 17.7
| May high C = 22.8
| Jun high C = 26.9
| Jul high C = 30.3
| Aug high C = 30.6
| Sep high C = 26.5
| Oct high C = 21.4
| Nov high C = 15.9
| Dec high C = 12.6
| year high C = 20.4
| Jan mean C = 7.5
| Feb mean C = 8.2
| Mar mean C = 10.2
| Apr mean C = 12.6
| May mean C = 17.2
| Jun mean C = 21.1
| Jul mean C = 24.1
| Aug mean C = 24.5
| Sep mean C = 20.8
| Oct mean C = 16.4
| Nov mean C = 11.4
| Dec mean C = 8.4
| year mean C = 15.2
| Jan low C = 3.1
| Feb low C = 3.5
| Mar low C = 5.2
| Apr low C = 7.5
| May low C = 11.6
| Jun low C = 15.3
| Jul low C = 18.0
| Aug low C = 18.3
| Sep low C = 15.2
| Oct low C = 11.3
| Nov low C = 6.9
| Dec low C = 4.2
| year low C = 10.0
| Jan record low C = -11.0
| Feb record low C = -4.4
| Mar record low C = -5.6
| Apr record low C = 0.0
| May record low C = 3.8
| Jun record low C = 7.8
| Jul record low C = 10.6
| Aug record low C = 10.0
| Sep record low C = 5.6
| Oct record low C = 0.8
| Nov record low C = -5.2
| Dec record low C = -4.8
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 67
| Feb precipitation mm = 73
| Mar precipitation mm = 58
| Apr precipitation mm = 81
| May precipitation mm = 53
| Jun precipitation mm = 34
| Jul precipitation mm = 19
| Aug precipitation mm = 37
| Sep precipitation mm = 73
| Oct precipitation mm = 113
| Nov precipitation mm = 115
| Dec precipitation mm = 81
| year precipitation mm = 804
| Jan precipitation days = 7.0
| Feb precipitation days = 7.6
| Mar precipitation days = 7.6
| Apr precipitation days = 9.2
| May precipitation days = 6.2
| Jun precipitation days = 4.3
| Jul precipitation days = 2.1
| Aug precipitation days = 3.3
| Sep precipitation days = 6.2
| Oct precipitation days = 8.2
| Nov precipitation days = 9.7
| Dec precipitation days = 8.0
| year precipitation days = 79.4
| unit precipitation days = 1 mm
| Jan sun = 120.9
| Feb sun = 132.8
| Mar sun = 167.4
| Apr sun = 201.0
| May sun = 263.5
| Jun sun = 285.0
| Jul sun = 331.7
| Aug sun = 297.6
| Sep sun = 237.0
| Oct sun = 195.3
| Nov sun = 129.0
| Dec sun = 111.6
| year sun = 2472.8

| source 1 = [[Servizio Meteorologico]], 1970–2000 data<ref name="ServizioMeteorologico1">[https://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClimatico/pdf/(239)Roma%20Ciampino.pdf Tabelle climatiche 1971–2000 della stazione meteorologica di Roma-Ciampino Ponente dall'Atlante Climatico 1971–2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110014759/http://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClimatico/pdf/%28239%29Roma%20Ciampino.pdf |date=10 January 2019 }}{{snd}}Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare</ref> data of sunshine hours<ref>
{{Cite web
|title=Visualizzazione tabella CLINO della stazione / CLINO Averages Listed for the station Roma Ciampino |url=https://clima.meteoam.it/web_clima_sysman/Clino6190/CLINO239.txt
|url-status=live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110819073317/http://clima.meteoam.it/web_clima_sysman/Clino6190/CLINO239.txt |archive-date=19 August 2011
|access-date=13 June 2011
}}
</ref>
| date = April 2012
| source = <ref>
{{Cite web
|url=https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/noaa-earth-had-its-third-warmest-year-record-2017
|title=NOAA: Earth Had Its Third Warmest Year on Record in 2017
|website=www.wunderground.com
}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite web
|url=https://weatherspark.com/h/y/71896/2022/Historical-Weather-during-2022-in-Vatican-City
|title=Vatican City 2022 Past Weather (Vatican City) - Weather Spark
|website=weatherspark.com
}}
</ref>
}}

In July 2007, the Vatican accepted a proposal by two firms based respectively in [[San Francisco]] and [[Budapest]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 May 2010 |title=Vatican footprint wrong-footed |url=https://www.thegwpf.com/vatican-footprint-wrong-footed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102201530/http://www.thegwpf.com/vatican-footprint-wrong-footed/ |archive-date=2 January 2015 |access-date=2 January 2015 |website=The Global Warming Policy Forum}}</ref> to become the first [[carbon neutrality|carbon neutral]] state by offsetting its [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|carbon dioxide emissions]] with the creation of a [[Vatican Climate Forest]] in Hungary,<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2007 |title=The Vatican to go carbon neutral |url=https://www.physorg.com/news103554442.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112190438/http://www.physorg.com/news103554442.html |archive-date=12 January 2009 |access-date=12 September 2009 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> as a purely symbolic gesture<ref name="CN070713">[https://www.cathnews.com/news/707/76.php Vatican signs up for a carbon offset forest], ''Catholic News Service'', published 13 July 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705173031/https://www.cathnews.com/news/707/76.php |date=5 July 2008 }}</ref> to encourage [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] to do more to safeguard the planet.<ref>[https://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2007/0723/carbon072307.shtml Climate forest makes Vatican the first carbon-neutral state], ''Western Catholic Reporter'', published 23 July 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304130215/https://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2007/0723/carbon072307.shtml |date=4 March 2008 }}</ref> Nothing came of the project.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0420/Carbon-offsets-How-a-Vatican-forest-failed-to-reduce-global-warming "Carbon offsets: How a Vatican forest failed to reduce global warming"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801031710/https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0420/Carbon-offsets-How-a-Vatican-forest-failed-to-reduce-global-warming |date=1 August 2020 }}. ''The Christian Science Monitor''</ref><ref>[https://www.ethicalcorp.com/environment/dangers-lurk-offset-investments "Dangers lurk in offset investments"], ''Ethical Corporation'' published 19 September 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427133116/https://www.ethicalcorp.com/environment/dangers-lurk-offset-investments |date=27 April 2012 }}</ref>

In November 2008, the Vatican installed [[solar panel]]s on the roof of the [[Paul VI Audience Hall]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Going green: Vatican expands mission to saving planet, not just souls |date=25 May 2007 |work=Catholic News Service |url=https://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702971.htm |access-date=12 June 2007 |url-status=live |archive-date=12 June 2007 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20070612183543/https://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702971.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Glatz |first=Carol |title=Vatican wins award for creating rooftop solar-power generator |date=26 November 2008 |work=Catholic News Service |url=https://salt.claretianpubs.org/sjnews/2008/12/sjn081210a.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010164738/http://salt.claretianpubs.org/sjnews/2008/12/sjn081210a.html |archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref>

=== Gardens ===
{{Main|Gardens of Vatican City}}

Within the territory of the Vatican City are the [[Gardens of Vatican City|Vatican Gardens]] ({{langx|it|Giardini Vaticani|links=no}}),<ref name="VaticanMap">{{Cite web |title=Map of Vatican City |url=https://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/vaticancity-map.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104104919/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/vaticancity-map.htm |archive-date=4 November 2021 |access-date=11 October 2009 |publisher=saintpetersbasilica.org}}</ref> which account for about half of the Vatican territory. The gardens, established during the [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] era, are decorated with fountains and sculptures.

The gardens cover approximately {{convert|23|ha|0}}. The highest point is {{convert|60|m|0}} [[above mean sea level]]. Stone walls bound the area in the north, south, and west.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the Papal [[Apostolic Palace]].<ref name="Pellegrino">{{Cite web |title=Al Pellegrino Cattolico: ''The Vatican Gardens'' |url=https://www.pellegrinocattolico.com/ctv/gardens.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413133503/https://www.pellegrinocattolico.com/ctv/gardens.htm |archive-date=13 April 2008 |access-date=21 November 2008 |publisher=2008 Al Pellegrino Cattolico s.r.l. Via di Porta Angelica 81\83 (S.Pietro) I- 00193 Roma, Italy}}</ref> In 1279 [[Pope Nicholas III]] (1277–1280) moved his residence back to the Vatican from the [[Lateran Palace]] and enclosed this area with walls.<ref name="Vatican">{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Official Vatican City State Website: ''A Visit to the Vatican Gardens'' |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Gardens/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081108134258/https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Gardens/ |archive-date=8 November 2008 |access-date=21 November 2008 |publisher=Uffici di Presidenza S.C.V.}}</ref> He planted an orchard (''pomerium''), a lawn (''pratellum''), and a garden (''viridarium'').<ref name="Vatican" />

{{Panorama
| image = Vatican panorama from St. Peters Basilica.jpg
| height = 240
| alt = A panorama of gardens and several buildings viewed from St. Peter's Basilica
| caption = {{center|A panorama of the gardens viewed from St. Peter's Basilica}}
}}

== Governance ==
<!-- Please add new information into relevant articles of the series -->
{{Main|Politics of Vatican City}}

The politics of Vatican City takes place in the context of a [[Unitary state|unitary]]<ref>{{cite web |author1=Juan José Ruda Santolaria |title=Vatican and the Holy See |url=https://uniset.ca/microstates2/Vatican_and_the_Holy_See.pdf |publisher=[[Oxford Bibliography]] |access-date=1 June 2026 |format=PDF |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199796953-0128 |date=31 March 2016 |quote=The Holy See practices international subjectivity in a similar manner to that of States: the right of legation, treaties, and the solution of controversies. It has a non-member state status in the United Nations. In contrast, other confessions lack a central unitary and hierarchical structure.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Unitary States 2026 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/unitary-states |website=worldpopulationreviews.com |access-date=1 June 2026}}</ref> absolute [[elective monarchy]] and being governed by the [[Holy See]], in which the head of the Catholic Church holds power. The pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of Vatican City, which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy.

=== State and Holy See ===
The Vatican City State, created in 1929 by the [[Lateran Pacts]], provides the Holy See with a temporal jurisdiction and independence within a small territory. It is distinct from the Holy See. The state can thus be deemed a significant but not essential instrument of the Holy See. The Holy See itself has existed continuously as a juridical entity since Roman Imperial times and has been internationally recognized as a powerful and independent sovereign entity since [[Late Antiquity]] to the present, without interruption even at times when it was deprived of territory (e.g. 1870 to 1929).{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

Vatican City is one of the few widely recognized independent states that have not become members of the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Section |first=United Nations News Service |date=7 February 2017 |title=UN News – FEATURE: Diplomacy of the conscience – The Holy See at the United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56121#.WnNenpM-dsM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202202155/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56121#.WnNenpM-dsM |archive-date=2 February 2018 |access-date=1 February 2018 |website=UN News Service Section |language=en}}</ref> The Holy See, which is distinct from Vatican City State, has [[United Nations General Assembly observers|permanent observer status]], with all the rights of a full member except for a vote in the [[UN General Assembly]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

=== Structure ===
{{see also|Pontificate}}
[[File:Papa Leone XIV (cropped).jpg |thumb|upright|[[Pope Leo XIV]], 2025]]

The government of Vatican City has a unique structure. As governed by the Holy See, the pope is the sovereign of the state, but he is supported by different bodies. Legislative authority is managed, in the pope's name, by the [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]], a body of cardinals appointed by the pope for five-year periods. Executive power is exercised by the [[President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State|president of that commission]], who is consequently also the president of the governorate, assisted by the general secretary and the deputy general secretary.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2017 |title=Origini e nature |trans-title=Origins and nature |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/note-generali/origini-natura.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 July 2018 |title=Organi dello Stato |trans-title=State bodies |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/organi-stato/organi-dello-stato.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref> The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's [[Secretariat of State (Holy See)|Secretariat of State]] and diplomatic service.

Nevertheless, the pope has absolute power in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches over Vatican City,<ref name="Vatican City">{{Cite web |title=Vatican City |url=https://www.catholic-pages.com/vatican/vatican_city.asp |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504093117/http://www.catholic-pages.com/vatican/vatican_city.asp |archive-date=4 May 2007 |access-date=4 March 2007 |publisher=Catholic-Pages.com}}</ref>
and is thus the only [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarch]] in Europe.<ref>"[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Learning-with-the-Times-7-nations-still-under-absolute-monarchy/articleshow/3692953.cms Learning with the Times: 7 Nation Still Under Absolute Monarchy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212153657/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/learning-with-the-times-7-nations-still-under-absolute-monarchy/articleshow/3692953.cms |date=12 December 2023 }}", ''The Times of India'', published 10 November 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2020.</ref>

Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters.<ref name="Vatican City" />

==== Sede vacante ====
The [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church|Cardinal Camerlengo]] presides over the [[Apostolic Camera]], to which is entrusted the administration of the property and protection of other [[temporal power (papal)|papal temporal powers and rights]] of the Holy See during the period of the empty throne or [[sede vacante]] (papal vacancy).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Visceglia |first=Maria Antonietta |title=Royal Courts in Dynastic States and Empires |date=1 January 2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004206236 |pages=237–264 |chapter=The Pope's Household And Court In The Early Modern Age |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004206229.i-444.57 |access-date=24 February 2023 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004206236/Bej.9789004206229.i-444_012.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224233528/https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004206236/Bej.9789004206229.i-444_012.xml |archive-date=24 February 2023 |url-status=live |doi-access=free}}</ref> Those of the Vatican State remain under the control of the [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]]. Acting with three other cardinals chosen by lot every three days, one from each order of cardinals ([[cardinal bishop]], [[cardinal priest]], and [[cardinal deacon]]), he in a sense performs during that period the functions of head of state of Vatican City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Universi Dominici Gregis (February 22, 1996) {{!}} John Paul II |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122152903/https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html |archive-date=22 November 2019 |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=The Holy See}}</ref> All the decisions these four cardinals take must be approved by the [[College of Cardinals]] as a whole.

==== Papal nobility ====
{{Main|Papal nobility}}

The nobility that was closely associated with the Holy See at the time of the Papal States continued to be associated with the Papal Court after the loss of these territories, generally with merely nominal duties (see [[Master of the Horse#Papal Master of the Horse|Papal Master of the Horse]], [[Prefecture of the Pontifical Household]], [[Hereditary officers of the Roman Curia]], [[Black Nobility]]). They also formed the ceremonial [[Noble Guard]]. In the first decades of the existence of the Vatican City State, [[Executive (government)|executive functions]] were entrusted to some of them, including that of delegate for the State of Vatican City, now denominated president of the Commission for Vatican City. With the [[motu proprio]] ''[[Pontificalis Domus]]'' of March 1968,<ref>{{Citation |title=Pontificalis Domus |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19680328_pontificalis-domus_lt.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112075641/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19680328_pontificalis-domus_lt.html |archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref> [[Pope Paul VI]] abolished the honorary positions that had continued to exist until then, such as [[Quartermaster general]] and [[Master of the Horse]].

=== Head of state ===
{{Main|Pope|President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State}}

{{See also|List of Sovereigns of the Vatican City State}}

[[File:20070610 Rome 29.jpg|thumb|The [[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.]]

As Vatican City is governed by the [[Holy See]], the pope is [[Ex officio member|''ex officio'']] the [[head of state]],<ref>One of the titles of the Pope listed in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' is "[[List of Sovereigns of the Vatican City State|Sovereign of Vatican City State]]" (page 23* in recent editions).</ref> a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the [[diocese of Rome]] and head of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 October 2021 |title=In Biden's visit with the pope, a page from Reagan's playbook? |url=https://theconversation.com/in-bidens-visit-with-the-pope-a-page-from-reagans-playbook-170077 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507183342/https://theconversation.com/in-bidens-visit-with-the-pope-a-page-from-reagans-playbook-170077 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |access-date=8 May 2022 |website=www.theconversation.com}}</ref> The term "Holy See" refers not to the Vatican state but to the pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the [[Roman Curia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Code of Canon Law: text – IntraText CT |url=https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P19.HTM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009091217/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P19.HTM |archive-date=9 October 2020 |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref> His official title with regards to Vatican City is ''Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City''.

[[Pope Leo XIV]], born Robert Francis Prevost in [[Chicago]], United States, was [[2025 papal conclave|elected]] on 8 May 2025. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City as well as the country's ''[[de facto]]'' [[head of government]] is the [[president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]], who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the [[Governor of Vatican City]]. Since 2001, the president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also has the title of president of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City. The president is the Italian sister [[Raffaella Petrini]], who was appointed by [[Pope Francis]] on 1 March 2025,<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 February 2025 |title=Pope Francis appoints an Italian nun as the first woman governor of Vatican City |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2025/02/15/woman-governor-vatican-city-249941 |access-date=11 May 2025 |website=America Magazine |language=en}}</ref> and was reconfirmed by Pope Leo XIV on 9 May 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2025 |title=Pope Leo temporarily confirms Vatican heads in current roles |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-leo-temporarily-confirms-vatican-heads-current-roles-2025-05-09/ |access-date=14 February 2026 |website=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

=== Government and justice ===
{{See also|Politics of Vatican City|Law of Vatican City}}
[[File:Palace of the Governorate. Vatican City State..jpg|thumb|The [[Governor's Palace, Vatican|Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State]]]]

[[Legislature|Legislative]] functions are administered by the pope, but are also delegated to the [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]], led by the [[president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]]. Its members are cardinals appointed by the pope for terms of five years.{{citation needed span|date=May 2024|Acts of the commission must be approved by the Pope, through the Holy See's [[Secretariat of State (Holy See)|Secretariat of State]],}} and must be published in a special appendix of the ''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]]''.{{citation needed span|date=May 2024|Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.}}

[[Executive (government)|Executive authority]] is delegated to the president of the Governorate of Vatican City, who is also the president of the Pontifical Commission. In addition, the Governorate include two immediate collaborators of the president: the general secretary and the deputy general secretary, members of the General Secretariat, <!--{{citation needed span|date=May 2024|-->each appointed by the pope for five-year terms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-motu-proprio-presidency-vatican-city-commission.html|title=Pope Leo consolidates governance reform for Vatican City Commission - Vatican News|date=21 November 2025|website=www.vaticannews.va}}</ref> {{citation needed span|date=May 2024|Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.}}

Both the [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]] and the president of the Governorate of Vatican City can be assisted by the councilors of Vatican City State in drafting legislation and other important issues. The president of the Governorate can convoke the members of the Council of Directors, together with external experts and people. The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2019 |title=Segreteria Generale |trans-title=General Secretariat |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/segreteria-generale.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Organi del potere legislativo ed esecutivo |trans-title=Executive and legislative bodies |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/organi-stato/organi-potere-legislativo-ed-esecutivo.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2019 |title=Consiglio dei Direttori |trans-title=Council of Directors |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/consiglio-dei-direttori.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref> The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the Pope for five-year terms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cernuzio |first1=Salvatore |title=Pope Leo consolidates governance reform for Vatican City Commission |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-motu-proprio-presidency-vatican-city-commission.html |website=VATICAN NEWS |publisher=Dicasterium pro Communicatione |access-date=12 December 2025 |date=21 November 2025}}</ref>

The Governorate is organized into central offices, one for law and another for personnel matters, and directorates with roles in the following matters:
* [[Infrastructure]] and [[Public service|services]]
* [[Telecommunications]] and [[information technology|information systems]]
* [[Law enforcement|Security]] and [[civil defense|civil protection]] services
* [[Economy]]
* [[Health]] and [[hygiene]]
* [[Museum]]s and [[cultural heritage]]
* Pontifical villas<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 March 2019 |title=Uffici centrali |trans-title=Central offices |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/uffici-centrali.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 July 2018 |title=Direzioni |trans-title=Directorates |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/direzioni.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref>

There are subsidiary bodies for [[Vatican euro coins|monetary]], disciplinary, personnel and personnel selection matters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2019 |title=Organismi ausiliari |trans-title=Subsidiary bodies |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/organismi-scientifici.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref>

In the pope's name, [[judiciary]] functions ([[Law of Vatican City#Judiciary|Vatican judiciary]]) are exercised by four bodies: a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, a Tribunal and a Sole Judge, whose roles are established by the Vatican codes of criminal and civil procedure, and the 2013 "''[[Motu Proprio]]'' On the Jurisdiction of Judicial Authorities of Vatican City State in Criminal Matters".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Organi del potere giudiziario |trans-title=Judiciary bodies |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/organi-stato/organi-potere-giudiziario.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref> At the Vatican's request, sentences imposed can be served in Italy (see the [[#Crime|section on crime]], below).

Due to obvious territorial constraints, many [[headquarters]] and offices of the [[Holy See]] are located on [[Italy|Italian]] territory. They are granted the same immunity as [[diplomatic mission]]s thanks to the [[Lateran Treaty]] and are commonly defined as "[[Properties of the Holy See|extraterritorial]] areas".<ref name="geo">{{Cite web |date=21 December 2017 |title=Geografia |trans-title=Geography |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/note-generali/geografia.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref>

=== National and public security ===
{{Main|Military in Vatican City|Pontifical Swiss Guard|Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City|Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State}}

[[File:20160424 035 Roma - Città del Vaticano - Piazza San Pietro (26436304050).jpg|thumb|A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box]]

As Vatican City is an enclave within Italy, its military defence is provided by the [[Italian Armed Forces]]. There is no formal defence treaty with Italy, as Vatican City is a [[neutral state]]. Vatican City has no armed forces of its own, although the [[Swiss Guard]] is a military corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the pope, and residents in the state. Soldiers of the Swiss Guard are entitled to hold [[Vatican City and Holy See passports|Vatican City State passports]] and nationality.<ref name=geo/>

Swiss mercenaries were historically recruited by popes as part of an army for the Papal States. The Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by [[Pope Julius II]] on 22 January 1506 as the pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". In 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland.<ref name=geo/>

All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed their [[basic training]] with the [[Swiss Armed Forces]] with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least {{convert|174|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in height. Members are equipped with [[small arms]] and the traditional [[halberd]], and trained in bodyguarding tactics. Together with the [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City]], the Swiss Guard have roles in the Italy-Vatican [[border control]].<ref name=geo/> The [[Palatine Guard]] and the [[Noble Guard (Vatican)|Noble Guard]], the last armed forces of the Vatican City State, were disbanded by [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1970.<ref name="Vatican State">{{Cite web |title=Vatican City Today |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/History/Vatican_City_today.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211020340/https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/History/Vatican_City_today.htm |archive-date=11 December 2007 |access-date=28 November 2007 |publisher=Vatican City Government}}</ref>

The entire territory of Vatican City has been listed on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection and, in 1984, among [[World Heritage Site]]s. Consequently, the [[Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict]] provides international legal protection against [[war|armed conflicts]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duursma |first=Jorri C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgVDprXjkIYC&pg=PA396 |title=Fragmentation and the International Relations of Micro-states: Self-determination and Statehood |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-56360-4 |page=396 |access-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414053158/https://books.google.com/books?id=CgVDprXjkIYC&pg=PA396 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 July 2018 |title=Extraterritorialità |trans-title=Extraterritoriality |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/stato-governo/note-generali/etraterritorialita.html |access-date=23 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref> A large part of the historical documents of the very extensive [[Vatican Apostolic Archive]] is stored in the "Bunker", which was inaugurated in 1980. This facility is a two-storey reinforced concrete [[bank vault|vault]], under the [[Cortile della Pigna]], equipped with systems for [[fire protection]], [[Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning|climate and humidity control]], and [[physical security]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bunker and storerooms |url=https://www.archivioapostolicovaticano.va/content/aav/en/l-archivio/ambienti/bunker-e-depositi.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |publisher=Vatican Apostolic Archive}}</ref>

[[File:Vaticano - Smart elettrica Gendarmeria 20231230.jpg|thumb|A [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City|Vatican gendarmerie]] car]]

Civil defence is the responsibility of the [[Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State]], the national [[fire brigade]]. Dating its origins to the early nineteenth century, the Corps in its present form was established in 1941. It is responsible for fire fighting, and civil defence scenarios including flooding, natural disasters, and [[mass casualty incident]]s. The Corps is governmentally supervised through the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence, which is also responsible for the Gendarmerie (see below).

The [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City|Gendarmerie Corps]] (''Corpo della Gendarmeria'') is the [[gendarmerie]], or police and security force, of Vatican City and the [[extraterritorial properties of the Holy See]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corpo della Gendarmeria |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/IT/Servizi/Direzione_SdS_VVFF/corpo_della_gendarmeria.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225094441/https://www.vaticanstate.va/IT/Servizi/Direzione_SdS_VVFF/corpo_della_gendarmeria.htm |archive-date=25 December 2012 |access-date=15 January 2013 |publisher=Stato della Città del Vaticano |language=it}}</ref> The corps is responsible for security, [[Public-order crime|public order]], [[border control]], [[road traffic control|traffic control]], [[criminal procedure|criminal investigation]], and other general police duties in Vatican City including providing security for the pope outside Vatican City. The corps has 130 personnel and is a part of the Directorate for Security Services and Civil Defence (which also includes the Vatican Fire Brigade), an organ of the Governorate of Vatican City.<ref name="Gendarme">{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Gendarme Corps |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Gendarme_Corps.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023001945/https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Gendarme_Corps.htm |archive-date=23 October 2007 |access-date=15 October 2007 |publisher=Office of the President of Vatican City State}}</ref><ref name="Administrations">{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Administrations and Central Offices |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Administrations_and_Central_Offices.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023001914/https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Structure_Governorate/Administrations_and_Central_Offices.htm |archive-date=23 October 2007 |access-date=15 October 2007 |publisher=Office of the President of Vatican City State}}</ref>

Even though [[St. Peter's Square|St Peter's Square]] is part of Vatican territory, it is normally safeguarded by [[Law enforcement in Italy|Italian police forces]].<ref name=geo/>

==== Crime ====
{{Main|Crime in Vatican City}}

[[File:Crowds in St. Peter's Square.jpg|thumb|The crowds of tourists in [[St. Peter's Square]] are a target for pickpockets]]

Crime in Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, [[pickpocketing]] and [[shoplifting]] by outsiders.<ref name="crime rate">{{Cite news |date=8 January 2003 |title=Vatican crime rate 'soars' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2639777.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108222354/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2639777.stm |archive-date=8 January 2008 |access-date=28 November 2007 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The tourist foot-traffic in [[St. Peter's Square|St Peter's Square]] is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City.<ref>{{Citation |title=Vatican surpasses all nations... in pickpockets? |date=14 February 2011 |work=Rome Reports |url=https://www.romereports.com/palio/vatican-surpasses-all-nations-in-pickpockets-english-3545.html#.UPt_Wc0hclk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115144215/https://www.romereports.com/palio/Vatican-surpasses-all-nations-in-pickpockets-english-3545.html |archive-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> If crimes are committed in the square, the perpetrators may be arrested and tried by the Italian authorities, since that area is normally patrolled by Italian police.<ref>Glatz, Carol (19 December 2013) [https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2013/man-seriously-injured-after-setting-self-on-fire-in-st-peter-s-square.cfm "Man seriously injured after setting self on fire in St. Peter's Square"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621003837/https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2013/man-seriously-injured-after-setting-self-on-fire-in-st-peter-s-square.cfm |date=21 June 2019 }}. ''Catholic News Service''</ref>

Under the Lateran Treaty,<ref name=Statute/> Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within the Vatican City and will itself proceed against the person who committed the offence, if that person takes refuge in Italian territory. Persons accused of crimes recognized as such both in Italy and in Vatican City that are committed in Italian territory will be handed over to the Italian authorities if they take refuge in the Vatican City or in buildings that enjoy immunity under the treaty.<ref name=Statute/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Alison |date=2009 |title=Researching the Law of the Vatican City State |url=https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/vatican1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017130729/https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Vatican1.htm |archive-date=17 October 2013 |website=Hauser Global Law School Program |publisher=[[New York University School of Law]]}}</ref>

The Vatican City has no prison system, apart from a few detention cells for pre-trial detention.<ref>{{Citation |title=How Does Vatican City Deal With Criminals? |date=30 May 2012 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |url=https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/05/paolo_gabriele_case_how_does_the_vatican_deal_with_criminals_.html |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824035613/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/05/paolo_gabriele_case_how_does_the_vatican_deal_with_criminals_.html |archive-date=24 August 2018}}</ref> People convicted of committing crimes in the Vatican serve terms in Italian prisons ([[Polizia Penitenziaria]]), with costs covered by the Vatican.<ref>"[https://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,460967,00.html Is the Vatican a Rogue State?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406122805/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,460967,00.html |date=6 April 2012 }}" ''[[Spiegel Online]]''. 19 January 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2010.</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{See also|Foreign relations of the Holy See|List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See}}

[[File:Vatican City - main entrance with Swiss Guard.jpg|thumb|The ''Ingresso di Sant'Anna'', an entrance to Vatican City from Italy]]

Vatican City State is a recognized national territory under [[international law]]. The Holy See conducts diplomatic relations on its behalf, in addition to the Holy See's own diplomacy, entering into international agreements in its regard. Vatican City thus has no diplomatic service of its own.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

Because of space limitations, Vatican City is one of the few countries in the world that are unable to host embassies. Foreign embassies to the Holy See are located in Rome. Only during the Second World War were the staff of some embassies accredited to the Holy See given what hospitality was possible within the narrow confines of Vatican City {{Ndash}} embassies such as that of the United Kingdom while Rome was held by the [[Axis powers]] and Germany's when the Allies controlled Rome.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

The size of Vatican City is unrelated to the large global reach exercised by the Holy See as an entity quite distinct from the state.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Holy See and Diplomacy |url=https://ukinholysee.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/news/2007/4485113/gregorian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521105212/https://ukinholysee.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/news/2007/4485113/gregorian |archive-date=21 May 2009 |publisher=[[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]]}}</ref>

Vatican City State itself participates in some international organizations whose functions relate to the state as a geographical entity, distinct from the non-territorial legal persona of the Holy See. These organizations are much less numerous than those in which the Holy See participates either as a member or with observer status. They include the following eight, in each of which Vatican City State holds membership:<ref name="Participation">{{Citation |title=Vatican City State: Participation in International Organizations |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Internationalrelations/Participation_with_international_Organizations.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710054455/https://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/Internationalrelations/Participation_with_international_Organizations.htm |archive-date=10 July 2010 |publisher=Vatican City State}}</ref><ref>See also appendix at end of [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_20010123_holy-see-relations_en.html "Bilateral Relations of the Holy See"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709142833/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_20010123_holy-see-relations_en.html |date=9 July 2014 }}. vatican.va</ref>
* [[European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations]] (CEPT)
* [[Eutelsat|European Telecommunications Satellite Organization]] (Eutelsat IGO)
* [[International Grains Council]] (IGC)
* [[International Institute of Administrative Sciences]] (IIAS)
* [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU)
* [[International Telecommunications Satellite Organization]] (ITSO)
* [[Interpol]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Membership Vatican City State |url=https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Europe/Vatican-City-State |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010164743/https://www.interpol.int/Member-countries/Europe/Vatican-City-State |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=5 June 2012 |publisher=[[Interpol]]}}</ref>
* [[Universal Postal Union]] (UPU)

It also participates in:<ref name="Participation" />
* [[World Medical Association]]
* [[World Intellectual Property Organization]] (WIPO)

==== Non-party, non-signatory policy ====
[[File:United Nations members de facto borders.svg|thumb|A map of the [[United Nations]] member states]]

The Vatican City is not a member of the [[United Nations]] (UN), but the Holy See was granted [[United Nations General Assembly observers|observer status]] to the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 1968; the only other country in a similar position is the  [[State of Palestine]]. Since it is not a member of the UN, the Vatican City is not subjected to the jurisdiction of the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ). It engages with UN specialized agencies through its observer status, including the [[Central Emergency Response Fund]], to which it contributed US$20,000 between 2006 and 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contributions by donor |url=https://cerf.un.org/our-donors/contributions-by-donor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807043845/https://cerf.un.org/our-donors/contributions-by-donor |archive-date=7 August 2022 |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=[[Central Emergency Response Fund]]}}</ref>

The Vatican City State is not a member of the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC). In Europe, only [[Belarus]] is also a non-party, non-signatory state. [[Ukraine]] and [[Monaco]] are signatory states that have not ratified and [[Russia]] withdrew from it in 2016.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

The Vatican City State is neither a member of the [[Council of Europe]] nor a party to the [[European Convention on Human Rights]], thus is not subject to the [[European Court of Human Rights]]. Among European states, Belarus is also not a member, while Russia has ceased to be part of it after being expelled from the Council of Europe following the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

The [[OECD]]'s "[[Common Reporting Standard]]" (CRS), aiming at preventing [[tax evasion]] and [[money laundering]], has also not been signed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AEOI: Status of Commitments |url=https://www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/AEOI-commitments.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629140220/https://www.oecd.org/tax/transparency/AEOI-commitments.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jurisdictions participating in the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters |url=https://www.oecd.org/ctp/exchange-of-tax-information/Status_of_convention.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629140217/https://www.oecd.org/ctp/exchange-of-tax-information/Status_of_convention.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019 |website=OECD}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Signatories of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information and Intended First Information Exchange Date |url=https://www.oecd.org/tax/exchange-of-tax-information/MCAA-Signatories.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629140216/https://www.oecd.org/tax/exchange-of-tax-information/MCAA-Signatories.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> The Vatican City State has been criticized for money-laundering practices in the past decades.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pullella |first=Philip |date=8 December 2017 |title=Vatican should bring money-laundering cases to trial, watchdog agency says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-financial-evaluation-idUSKBN1E20X8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602095231/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-financial-evaluation-idUSKBN1E20X8 |archive-date=2 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Perryer |first=Sophie |date=20 November 2018 |title=Top 5 financial transgressions committed by the Vatican |url=https://www.europeanceo.com/finance/top-5-financial-transgressions-committed-by-the-vatican/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327132811/https://www.europeanceo.com/finance/top-5-financial-transgressions-committed-by-the-vatican/ |archive-date=27 March 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019 |website=European CEO |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Willey |first=David |date=18 July 2013 |title=The Vatican Bank is rocked by scandal again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23289297 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629142358/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23289297 |archive-date=29 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> The only other country in Europe that has not agreed to sign the CRS is Belarus.

The Vatican City State is one of few countries in the world that do not provide any publicly available financial data to the [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=IMF Data Portal |url=https://data.imf.org |publisher=International Monetary Fund}}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Ref is the home page of this website, it does not contain the information required to support the text|date=May 2025}}

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Vatican City}}

[[File:Vatican City and St. Peter Square evening twilight aerial view.jpg|thumb|View of Vatican City in the evening]]

The Vatican City State budget includes the [[Vatican Museums]] and [[post office]] and is supported financially by the sale of [[Postage stamps and postal history of Vatican City|stamps]], [[Vatican euro coins|coins]], medals and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by publications sales.{{efn|1=The Holy See's budget, which is distinct from that of Vatican City State, is supported financially by a variety of sources, including investments, real estate income, and donations from Catholic individuals, dioceses, and institutions; these help fund the Roman Curia (Vatican bureaucracy), diplomatic missions, and media outlets. Moreover, an annual collection taken up in dioceses and direct donations go to a non-budgetary fund known as [[Peter's Pence]], which is used directly by the Pope for charity, disaster relief and aid to churches in developing nations.}} The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.<ref name="economy factbook">{{Cite web |title=Holy See (Vatican City): Economy |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |archive-date=26 January 2022 |access-date=10 October 2010 |website=CIA – The World Factbook}}</ref> Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms.

The [[Institute for Works of Religion]] (IOR, ''Istituto per le Opere di Religione''), also known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial agency situated in the Vatican that conducts worldwide financial activities. It has multilingual [[automated teller machine|ATMs]] with instructions in [[Latin]], possibly the only ATM in the world with this feature.<ref name="Seans">{{Cite web |last=O'Malley |first=Seán P. |author-link=Seán Patrick O'Malley |date=28 September 2006 |title=A Glimpse Inside the Vatican & Msgr. Robert Deeley's Guest Post |url=https://www.cardinalseansblog.org/?p=232 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020213924/http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/?p=232 |archive-date=20 October 2007 |access-date=30 January 2008}}</ref>

Vatican City issues its own coins and stamps. It has used the [[Euro]] as its currency since January 1999, owing to a special agreement with the [[European Union]]. Euro coins and notes were introduced on 1 January 2002 — the Vatican City does not issue [[euro banknotes]]. Issuance of euro-denominated coins is strictly limited by treaty. More coins than usual are allowed in a year with a new papacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agreements on monetary relations (Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican and Andorra) |url=https://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/economic_and_monetary_affairs/institutional_and_economic_framework/l25040_en.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327132038/http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/economic_and_monetary_affairs/institutional_and_economic_framework/l25040_en.htm |archive-date=27 March 2010 |access-date=23 February 2007 |website=Activities of the European Union: Summaries of legislation}}</ref> Because of their rarity, [[Vatican euro coins]] are highly sought by collectors.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2006 |title=Benedict Vatican euros set for release |url=https://cathnews.acu.edu.au/604/100.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911140958/http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/604/100.html |archive-date=11 September 2014 |access-date=25 September 2014 |website=Catholic News}}</ref> Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own [[Vatican lira]] currency, which was on par with the Italian [[lira]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+ [[Vatican euro coins]] with images of [[Pope Francis]] and [[Pope Benedict XVI]]
|-
| [[File:1 Cent-Vatican-Franciscus-Series 1.jpg|115px]]
| [[File:1€-Vatican Franciscus-Revers.jpg|€1-Vatican Franciscus-Revers|115px]]
| [[File:1€-Vatican-Benedikt XVI-Revers.jpg|115px]]
|}

Vatican City State, which employs nearly 2,000 people, had a surplus of 6.7{{spaces}}million [[euro]]s in 2007. It ran a deficit in 2008 of more than 15{{spaces}}million euros.<ref>{{Citation |title=Holy See's budget shortfall shrinks in 2008 |work=Christian Telegraph |url=https://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue6216.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722045938/https://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue6216.html |archive-date=22 July 2011}} The report quoted deals mainly with the revenues and expenses of the Holy See and mentions only briefly the finances of Vatican City.</ref>

In 2012, the [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]]'s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report listed Vatican City for the first time among the nations of concern for [[Money laundering|money-laundering]], placing it in the middle category, which includes countries such as Ireland, but not among the most vulnerable countries, which include the United States itself, Germany, Italy, and Russia.<ref>Pullella, Philip (8 March 2012). [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-laundering-idUSBRE82710J20120308 "U.S. adds Vatican to money-laundering 'concern' list."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816203117/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-laundering-idUSBRE82710J20120308 |date=16 August 2021 }} Reuters.</ref>

[[File:Musei Vaticani. Braccio Nuovo.JPG|thumb|Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by [[Raffaele Stern]] (1774–1820)]]

In February 2014, the Vatican announced it was establishing a secretariat for the economy, to be responsible for all economic, financial, and administrative activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, headed by Cardinal [[George Pell]]. This followed the charging of two senior clerics including a [[monsignor]] with money-laundering offences. Pope Francis appointed an auditor-general authorized to carry out audits of any agency at any time and engaged a US financial services company to review the Vatican's 19,000 accounts, to ensure compliance with international money-laundering practices. The pontiff appointed the [[Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See]] as the Vatican's central bank, with responsibilities similar to other central banks around the world.<ref name="VaticanEconomicSecretariat">{{Cite news |date=25 February 2014 |title=Vatican financial system restructuring begins with new secretariat |url=https://www.theitalynews.net/index.php/sid/220216280/scat/145bb158ac2f80f2/ht/Vatican-financial-system-restructuring-begins-with-new-secretariat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720193128/https://www.theitalynews.net/index.php/sid/220216280/scat/145bb158ac2f80f2/ht/Vatican-financial-system-restructuring-begins-with-new-secretariat |archive-date=20 July 2014 |access-date=25 February 2014 |publisher=The Italy News.Net}}</ref>

In 2022, the Vatican planned to release [[NFT]]s of its museum collection.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 May 2022 |title=The Vatican Will Create a NFT Gallery to 'Democratize Art' |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/vatican-nft-gallery-1234627189/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505121235/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/vatican-nft-gallery-1234627189/ |archive-date=5 May 2022 |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref>

=== Transport ===
{{Main|Transport in Vatican City}}

[[File:0 Gare du Vatican.JPG|thumb|The [[Rail transport in Vatican City|shortest national railway system]] in the world]]

The Vatican City has a reasonably well-developed transport network considering its size, consisting mostly of a piazza and walkways. As a state that is {{convert|1.05|km|yd|-1|abbr=off}} long and {{convert|0.85|km|yd|-1|abbr=on}} wide,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy See – State of the Vatican City |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529155107/https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html |archive-date=29 May 2010 |access-date=28 November 2007 |publisher=Vatican Papal Conclave}}</ref> it has a small transportation system, with no airports or highways.

The only aviation facility in Vatican City is the [[Vatican City Heliport]]. Vatican City is one of the few independent [[List of countries without an airport|countries without an airport]], and is served by the airports that serve the city of Rome, [[Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport]] and to a lesser extent [[Rome Ciampino Airport|Ciampino Airport]].<ref name="Sinfin" />

There is a [[standard gauge]] [[Vatican Railway]] and a [[Vatican City railway station]], mainly used to transport freight. It is connected to Italy's network at Rome's [[Roma San Pietro railway station]] by an {{Convert|852|m|yd|adj=mid|-long}} spur, {{Convert|300|m|yd|}} of which is within Vatican territory.<ref name="Sinfin">{{Cite web |title=Railways of the World |url=https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/vatican/vaticanrail.html#Origini |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010161429/http://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/vatican/vaticanrail.html#Origini |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=8 August 2006 |publisher=Sinfin.net}}</ref> [[Pope John XXIII]] was the first pope to use the railway. [[Pope John Paul II]] rarely used it.<ref name="Sinfin" />

The closest [[Rome Metro|metro]] station is [[Ottaviano – San Pietro – Musei Vaticani]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Vatican Museums & St Peter's, Rome; getting there – |url=https://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/vatican.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202751/https://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/vatican.htm |archive-date=5 March 2018 |access-date=19 March 2018 |website=www.rometoolkit.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Telecommunications and mass media ===
<!--linked from [[Template:Vatican City topics]]-->
[[File:Pay phone in the Vatican City.jpg|thumb|A pay phone in the Vatican City]]
The City<!--Referring to Vatican City, not city. Do not decapitalize.--> is served by an independent, modern telephone system named the [[Vatican Telephone Service]].<ref>{{Citation |title=On call 24/7: Vatican phone system directs thousands of call each day |date=24 July 2006 |url=https://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=20631 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219033109/https://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=20631 |archive-date=19 December 2012}}</ref>

The Vatican controls its own Internet [[top-level domain]], which is registered as ([[.va]]). Broadband service is widely provided within Vatican City. Vatican City has a radio [[ITU prefix]], HV, and this is sometimes used by [[amateur radio]] operators.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

In 2015, ''[[Vatican News]]'' [[Web portal#News portal|web portal]], ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' daily newspaper, [[Vatican Radio]] and [[Vatican Media]] (formerly Vatican Television Center) were brought together under the [[Dicastery for Communication]], which is now the single point of reference of the [[Holy See]] for communication.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Motu Proprio |url=https://www.comunicazione.va/en/chi-siamo/motu-proprio.html |website=www.comunicazione.va}}</ref> Other institutions managed by the Dicastery for Communication are the {{ill|Vatican Printing Press|it|Tipografia poliglotta vaticana}} (founded in 1587), the [[Vatican Publishing House]] (founded in 1926) and the {{ill|Vatican Film Archive|it|Filmoteca Vaticana}}.<ref name=communication>{{Cite web|title=History of the Dicastery for Communication|url=https://www.comunicazione.va/en/chi-siamo/storia.html|access-date=5 October 2025|website=comunicazione.va|publisher=[[Dicastery for Communication]]}}</ref>

[[Vatican Radio]], which was organized by [[Guglielmo Marconi]], broadcasts on [[Shortwave|short-wave]], [[Medium wave|medium-wave]] and FM frequencies and on the Internet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 2005 |title=Vatican Radio – Index |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/radio/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503202313/http://www.vatican.va/news_services/radio/index.htm |archive-date=3 May 2009 |access-date=6 May 2009 |publisher=Vatican.va}}</ref> Its main transmission antennae are located in Italian territory, and exceed Italian environmental protection levels of emission. For this reason, the Vatican Radio has been [[Vatican Radio lawsuit|sued]]. Photo, audio and video services are provided through another entity, [[Vatican Media]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican Television Center – Index |url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/television/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503202319/http://www.vatican.va/news_services/television/index.htm |archive-date=3 May 2009 |access-date=6 May 2009 |publisher=Vatican.va}}</ref><ref name=communication/>

{{citation needed span|''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' is the multilingual semi-official newspaper of the Holy See. It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Catholic laymen, but reports on official information. The official texts of documents are in the ''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]]'', the [[Gazette|official gazette]] of the Holy See, which has an appendix for documents of the Vatican City State.|date=October 2025}}

=== Postal service ===
[[File:Poste Vaticane.jpg|thumb|Vatican City's post office was established in February 1929.]]

A [[Mail|postal system]] ([[Poste Vaticane]]) was created on 13 February 1929. On 1 August, the state started to release its own postal stamps, under the authority of the [[Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Early Definitives |url=https://www.vaticanphilately.org/vc.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211191109/https://www.vaticanphilately.org/vc.htm |archive-date=11 December 2007 |access-date=28 November 2007 |publisher=Vatican Philatelic Society}}</ref> The city's postal service is sometimes said to be "the best in the world",<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Al |date=27 June 2004 |title=Hail Marys Not Needed: Vatican Mail Will Deliver |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CEFDE1738F934A15755C0A9629C8B63&n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/Vatican%20City |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101222204/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CEFDE1738F934A15755C0A9629C8B63&n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries%20and%20Territories%2FVatican%20City |archive-date=1 January 2008 |access-date=28 November 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and faster than the postal service in Rome.<ref name="NYT" />

The [[Postal code#Country code prefixes|international postal country code prefix]] is ''SCV''. The postal code is ''00120'' – altogether ''SCV-00120''.<ref>"International postal code: SCV-00120."[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html#Targa www.vatican.va]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529155107/https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html#Targa |date=29 May 2010 }}[[Holy See Press Office]] – General Information. Retrieved 23 October 2009.</ref>

=== Healthcare ===
{{See also|Vatican Pharmacy|Bambino Gesù Hospital}}

=== Sustainability ===
In 2008, the Vatican began an "ecological island" for renewable waste and has continued the initiative throughout the papacy of [[Pope Francis|Francis]]. These innovations included, for example, the installation of a solar power system on the roof of the [[Paul VI Audience Hall]]. In July 2019, it was announced that Vatican City would ban the use and sale of [[single-use plastic]]s as soon as its supply was depleted, well before the 2021 deadline established by the [[European Union]]. It is estimated that 50–55% of Vatican City's municipal solid waste is properly sorted and recycled, with the goal of reaching the EU standard of 70–75%.<ref name="end sale of single-use plastics">{{cite web |last1=Glatz |first1=Carol |title=Vatican City State set to end sale of single-use plastics |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/07/16/vatican-city-state-set-to-end-sale-of-single-use-plastics/ |publisher=Crus |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-date=16 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716230355/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/07/16/vatican-city-state-set-to-end-sale-of-single-use-plastics/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{See also|Demographics of Vatican City|Women in Vatican City}}

{{As of|2024}} Vatican City has a population of 882 residents, regardless of citizenship.<ref name="population" /> There are 372 Vatican citizens residing elsewhere,<ref name="population" /> consisting of diplomats of the Holy See to other countries and cardinals residing in Rome.<ref name="citizenship" />

The population is composed of clergy, other religious members, laypeople serving the state (such as the [[Swiss Guard]]) and their family members.<ref name="population2011">{{Cite web |title=Population |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/it/stato-e-governo/note-generali/popolazione.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414002752/https://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/it/stato-e-governo/note-generali/popolazione.html |archive-date=14 April 2019 |publisher=Vatican City State |language=it}}</ref> In 2013, there were 13 families of the employees of the Holy See living in Vatican City.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MrowiÅ„ska |first=Alina |date=26 February 2013 |title=Behind The Walls: What It's Like To Live Inside The Vatican, For A Woman |url=https://worldcrunch.com/the-next-pope/behind-the-walls-what-it039s-like-to-live-inside-the-vatican-for-a-woman |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113140341/https://worldcrunch.com/the-next-pope/behind-the-walls-what-it039s-like-to-live-inside-the-vatican-for-a-woman |archive-date=13 November 2022 |access-date=22 October 2022 |website=Worldcrunch |publisher=NET TV – Catholic TV from the Diocese of Brooklyn}}</ref> In 2019, there were 20 children of the Swiss Guards living at the Vatican.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 August 2019 |title=Raising Children Within the Vatican: Life of a Swiss Guard Family |url=https://netny.tv/episodes/currents/raising-children-within-vatican-swiss-guard-family/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307163613/https://netny.tv/episodes/currents/raising-children-within-vatican-swiss-guard-family/ |archive-date=7 March 2023 |access-date=22 October 2022 |publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> All citizens, residents, and places of worship in the city are [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]. The city receives thousands of tourists and workers every day.

<div style="display:inline-table; line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 1em;">
{| class=wikitable style="font-size:small; text-align:center"
|+ class=nowrap style=line-height:1.5 | Vatican City population on 31 December 2024<ref name="population" />
|-
! Citizenship !! colspan=2 {{free|Vatican}} !! other
|-
! Residency !! other !! colspan=2 {{maybe|Vatican City}}
|-
| Pope || || 1 ||
|-
| Cardinals || 56 || 10 ||
|-
| Diplomats || 316 || ||
|-
| Swiss Guard || || 104 ||
|- style=line-height:2.7
| Others || || 131 || 636
|-
! rowspan=4 | Total !! colspan=2 {{free|618}} !! rowspan=2 | 636
|-
! rowspan=2 | 372 !! 246
|-
! colspan=2 {{maybe|882}}
|-
! colspan=3 {{yes2|1,254}}
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-table;">
{| class=wikitable style="font-size:small; text-align:center; line-height:1.2"
|+ class=nowrap style=line-height:1.5 | Vatican City population on 1 March 2011<ref name="population2011" />
! Sex !! colspan=3 | all !! colspan=3 | male !! colspan=3 | female
|-
! Citizenship !! colspan=2 {{free|Vatican}} !! other !! colspan=2 {{free|Vatican}} !! other !! colspan=2 {{free|Vatican}} !! other
|-
! Residency !! other !! colspan=2 {{maybe|Vatican City}} !! other !! colspan=2 {{maybe|Vatican City}} !! other !! colspan=2 {{maybe|Vatican City}}
|-
| Pope || || 1 || || || 1 || || || ||
|-
| Cardinals || 43 || 30 || || 43 || 30 || || || ||
|-
| Diplomats || 306 || || || 306 || || || || ||
|-
| Swiss Guard || || 86 || || || 86 || || || ||
|-
| Other religious || || 50 || 197 || || 49 || 102 || || 1 || 95
|-
| Other lay || || 56 || 24 || || 25 || 3 || || 31 || 21
|-
! rowspan=4 | Total !! colspan=2 {{free|572}} !! rowspan=2 | 221 !! colspan=2 {{free|540}} !! rowspan=2 | 105 !! colspan=2 {{free|32}} !! rowspan=2 | 116
|-
! rowspan=2 | 349 !! 223 !! rowspan=2 | 349 !! 191 !! rowspan=2 | !! 32
|-
! colspan=2 {{maybe|444}} !! colspan=2 {{maybe|296}} !! colspan=2 {{maybe|148}}
|-
! colspan=3 {{yes2|793}} !! colspan=3 {{yes2|645}} !! colspan=3 {{yes2|148}}
|}
</div>

=== Languages ===
{{Further|Languages of Vatican City}}

[[File:Seal of Vatican City.svg|thumb|The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language]]

Vatican City has no formally enacted [[official language]], but, unlike the Holy See which most often uses [[Latin]] for the authoritative version of its official documents, Vatican City uses only Italian in its legislation and official communications.<ref>Vatican City State appendix to the [[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]] is entirely in Italian.</ref> Italian is the everyday language used by most of those who work in the state. In the Swiss Guard, [[Swiss German]] is the language used for giving commands. Individual guards take their oath of loyalty in their own languages: German, French, Italian or [[Romansh language|Romansh]]. The official websites of the Holy See<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican |url=http://www.vatican.va/content/vatican.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206111318/http://www.vatican.va// |archive-date=6 February 2015 |access-date=7 December 2021 |website=The Holy See}}</ref> and of Vatican City<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vatican State |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011232552/https://vaticanstate.va/ |archive-date=11 October 2019 |website=www.vaticanstate.va}}</ref> are primarily in Italian, with versions of their pages in a large number of languages, to varying extents.

=== Citizenship ===
Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on ''[[jus sanguinis]]'' (birth from a citizen, even outside the state's territory) or on ''[[jus soli]]'' (birth within the territory of the state), citizenship of Vatican City is granted on ''jus officii'', namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. This includes Cardinals resident either within Vatican City or elsewhere in Rome, diplomats of the Holy See, and any other person resident in Vatican City due to their occupation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Witola |first=Filip |year=2024b |title=Legge sulla Cittadinanza, la Residenza e l'Accesso N. CXXXI - The Legislative Reorganisation of the Citizenship of the Vatican City State |journal=Opolskie Studia Administracyjno-Prawne |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=131–142 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/opessian22&div=12 |access-date=8 May 2025 |publisher=[[University of Opole]] |url-access=subscription |via=[[HeinOnline]] }}</ref> It usually ceases upon the cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided that they are living together in the city.<ref name="citizenship">{{Cite web |date=22 February 2011 |title=Law on citizenship, residence and access |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/phocadownload/leggi-decreti/Leggesullacittadinanzalaresidenzaelaccesso.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717184754/https://www.vaticanstate.va/phocadownload/leggi-decreti/Leggesullacittadinanzalaresidenzaelaccesso.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2022 |access-date=31 July 2022 |publisher=Vatican City State |language=it}}</ref> Some individuals are authorized to reside in the city but do not qualify or choose not to request citizenship.<ref name="citizenship" /> Anyone who loses Vatican citizenship and does not possess other citizenship automatically becomes an [[Italian citizenship|Italian citizen]], as provided in the Lateran Treaty.<ref name=Statute/>

The Holy See, not being a country, issues only [[diplomatic passport|diplomatic]] and [[service passport|service]] passports, whereas Vatican City issues [[Vatican and Holy See passports|ordinary passports]] for its citizens.{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

=== Statistical oddities ===
In statistics comparing countries in ''[[per capita]]'' or per area metrics, Vatican City is often an [[outlier]] {{Ndash}} these stem from the state's small size and ecclesiastical function.<ref name="The Independent-2014">{{Cite web |date=25 February 2014 |title=Vatican City drinks more wine per person than anywhere else in the world |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-city-drinks-more-wine-per-person-than-anywhere-else-in-the-world-9151475.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727222225/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-city-drinks-more-wine-per-person-than-anywhere-else-in-the-world-9151475.html |archive-date=27 July 2018 |access-date=27 July 2018 |website=The Independent}}</ref> For example, as most of the roles which would confer citizenship are reserved for men, the gender ratio of Vatican City citizenship is several men per woman.<ref>Mrowińska, Alina. [https://www.worldcrunch.com/dossier-the-next-pope/behind-the-walls-what-it-039-s-like-to-live-inside-the-vatican-for-a-woman/c8s11033/ "Behind The Walls: What It's Like To Live Inside The Vatican, For A Woman"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101202339/https://www.worldcrunch.com/dossier-the-next-pope/behind-the-walls-what-it-039-s-like-to-live-inside-the-vatican-for-a-woman/c8s11033/ |date=1 January 2016 }}, ''Gazeta Wyborcza/Worldcrunch'', 26 February 2013.</ref> Further oddities are petty crimes against tourists, resulting in a very high per-capita crime rate,<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 January 2003 |title=Vatican crime rate 'soars' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2639777.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205082725/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2639777.stm |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=6 March 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref> and the city-state leading the world in per-capita wine consumption due to its [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacramental use]].<ref name="The Independent-2014" /> A jocular illustration of these anomalies is sometimes made by calculating a "popes per km<sup>2</sup>" statistic, which is greater than two because Vatican City is less than half a square kilometre in area.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Anne |last2=Mitchinson |first2=John |date=14 March 2013 |title=QI: some quite interesting facts about Popes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/9930677/QI-some-quite-interesting-facts-about-Popes.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/9930677/QI-some-quite-interesting-facts-about-Popes.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |access-date=6 March 2019 |work=The Daily Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

{{Panorama
| image = View from Stpeters.jpg
| height = 230
| alt = 360-degree view from the dome of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], looking over the Vatican's [[Saint Peter's Square]] (centre) and out into Rome, showing Vatican City in all directions
| caption = {{center|A 360-degree view from the dome of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], looking over the Vatican's [[Saint Peter's Square]] (centre) and out into Rome, showing Vatican City in all directions}}
}}

== Culture ==
{{See also|Music of Vatican City}}

=== Cultural heritage ===
{{See also|Architecture of Vatican City|Vatican Museums}}
[[File:Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano September 2015-1a.jpg|thumb|[[St. Peter's Basilica]] is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture<ref name="w583">{{Cite web |date=20 July 1998 |title=History, Architects, Relics, Art, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Peters-Basilica |access-date=18 August 2024 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>]]

The Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. [[St. Peter's Basilica|St Peter's Basilica]], designed by a succession of architects including [[Bramante]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Giacomo della Porta]], [[Carlo Maderno]] and [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], is a renowned work of [[Renaissance architecture]]. The [[Sistine Chapel]] is famous for its frescos, which include works by [[Perugino]], [[Domenico Ghirlandaio]] and [[Sandro Botticelli]], as well as the [[Sistine Chapel ceiling|ceiling]] and [[Last Judgment]] by Michelangelo. The interiors of the Vatican were decorated by artists including [[Raphael]] and [[Fra Angelico]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2026}}

The [[Vatican Apostolic Library]] and the collections of the [[Vatican Museums]] are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 January 2020 |title=The Vatican Library Goes Online and Digitizes Tens of Thousands of Manuscripts, Books, Coins, and More |url=https://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-vatican-library-goes-online-and-digitizes-tens-of-thousands-of-manuscripts-books-coins-and-more.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422174241/https://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-vatican-library-goes-online-and-digitizes-tens-of-thousands-of-manuscripts-books-coins-and-more.html |archive-date=22 April 2022 |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Open Culture}}</ref> Added by [[UNESCO]] to the List of [[World Heritage Site]]s in 1984, the Vatican is the only site to consist of an entire state.<ref name="UNESCO">{{Cite web |title=Vatican City – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225203638/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286/ |archive-date=25 December 2017 |access-date=10 October 2009 |website=[[whc.unesco.org]] |publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> It is the only UNESCO site registered as a ''centre containing monuments'' in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 [[Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict]].<ref name="UNESCO" />

=== Science ===
[[File:11277-Vatican-FromTheDome (3481600615).jpg|thumb|The [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] and the [[Casina Pio IV]]]]

Following in the footsteps of the [[Accademia dei Lincei|Pontifical Academy of New Lincei]] founded by [[Pope Pius IX]] in 1847, [[Pope Pius XI]] founded the [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] in 1936. Located in the [[Casina Pio IV]], it brings together scientists who made contributions to [[mathematical sciences|mathematical]], [[Outline of physical science|physical]] and [[natural sciences]], and [[medicine]]. It also focuses on [[epistemology|epistemological]] issues and the [[history of science]]. Among the [[academician]]s, there are or were the [[astrophysicist]] [[Martin John Rees]], the [[mathematician]] [[Cédric Villani]], the [[theoretical physics|theoretical physicist]] [[Edward Witten]], the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] laureates [[Jennifer Doudna]] and [[Emmanuelle Charpentier]], and [[Ernest Rutherford]], the [[genetics|geneticists]] [[Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza]] and [[Francis Collins]], the [[head transplant]] pioneer [[Robert J. White]], the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] [[Alexander Fleming]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.pas.va/en/about/history.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |publisher=Pontifical Academy of Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Disciplines |url=https://www.pas.va/en/academicians/disciplines.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |publisher=Pontifical Academy of Sciences}}</ref>

The [[Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences]] is another [[pontifical academy]] of the [[Holy See]] located in the Vatican City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Disciplines |url=https://www.pass.va/en/academicians/disciplines.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |publisher=The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences}}</ref> The seat of the [[Pontifical Academy for Life]], which deals with [[bioethics]] and [[ethics of technology]], is at [[Palazzo San Callisto|San Callisto complex]], a Vatican [[Properties of the Holy See#Outside Vatican City but inside Rome|extraterritorial property]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pontifical academies |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/index.htm |access-date=24 May 2024 |website=vatican.va |publisher=[[Dicastery for Communication]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuova sede dal Primo marzo 2024 |trans-title=New headquarters from 1 March 2024 |url=https://www.academyforlife.va/content/pav/it/notizie/2024/nuovo-indirizzo-1-marzo-2024.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |publisher=Pontifical Academy for Life |language=it}}</ref>

The [[Vatican Observatory]], whose origins date back to the 16th century, continues to contribute to astronomical research, especially through a partnership with the [[University of Arizona]] and the [[Infrared astronomy|infrared]] and [[Visible-light astronomy|optical]] [[Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope]] in [[Arizona]], and to astronomical [[education]] and "[[popular science]]" projects. As a member of the [[International Astronomical Union]] and the [[International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics]], it deals with research on [[physical cosmology|cosmological models]], [[stellar classification]], [[binary star]]s, and [[nebulae]]. It has contributed to [[philosophy|philosophical]] [[interdisciplinary]] studies at the [[Graduate Theological Union|Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences]] in [[Berkeley, California]] and research on the [[history of astronomy]] thanks to its extensive library, which includes a [[meteorite]] [[collection (museum)|collection]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Specola vaticana |trans-title=Vatican Observatory |url=https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/organismi-scientifici/specola-vaticana.html |access-date=24 May 2024 |website=vaticanstate.va |publisher=Vatican City Directorate of Telecommunications and Computer Services |language=it}}</ref>

The first telescopes of the [[Vatican Observatory]] in the [[Gardens of Vatican City]] and near [[St. Peter's Basilica]] were among those used to create the [[Carte du Ciel]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Blackemore|first=Erin|date=6 May 2016|title=These Little-Known Nuns Helped Map the Stars|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-little-known-nuns-helped-map-stars-180959012/|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|location=Washington DC|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|access-date=5 May 2025}}</ref> but they progressively became useless for [[research]] purposes due to [[light pollution]] in the 1930s. Consequently, [[Pope Pius XI]] moved the observatory to the Vatican [[Properties of the Holy See#Outside Rome|extraterritorial]] [[Palace of Castel Gandolfo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Al via le visite all'osservatorio astronomico del Papa a Castel Gandolfo|trans-title=Visits to the Pope's astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo are underway|url=https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/it/eventi-e-novita/notizie/2023/specola-vaticana-visite-guidate.html|access-date=5 May 2025|website=museivaticani.va|publisher=[[Vatican Museums]]|language=it}}</ref>

=== Sport ===
{{Main|Sport in Vatican City}}

The Vatican City is not a member of the [[International Olympic Committee]] and does not compete in the [[Olympic Games]], though it has participated in some international sporting events, including the [[World Cycling Championships]],<ref name="Pender 2022">{{Cite web |last=Pender |first=Kieran |date=23 September 2022 |title=Vatican sends holy rouleur Down Under on world road cycling mission |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2022/sep/24/vatican-sends-holy-rouleur-to-wollongong-on-world-road-cycling-mission |access-date=5 April 2024 |website=the Guardian}}</ref> the [[Championships of the Small States of Europe]] and the [[Mediterranean Games]].<ref name="Med Games">{{Cite web |date=28 June 2022 |title=Vatican runner to compete in half marathon at Med Games |url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-africa-religion-marathons-7cc49933950805875868eafce3c398c6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317065921/https://apnews.com/article/sports-africa-religion-marathons-7cc49933950805875868eafce3c398c6 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |access-date=5 April 2024 |website=AP News}}</ref> Vatican City has its own athletics association, [[Athletica Vaticana]].<ref name="LOsservatore Romano 2023 a014">{{Cite web |date=10 November 2023 |title=Promoting solidarity and peace through sports |url=https://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/2023-11/ing-045/promoting-solidarity-and-peace-through-sports.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405133324/https://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/2023-11/ing-045/promoting-solidarity-and-peace-through-sports.html |archive-date=5 April 2024 |access-date=5 April 2024 |website=L'Osservatore Romano}}</ref>

[[Association football|Football]] in Vatican City is organized by the [[Vatican Amateur Sports Association]], which holds the national championship, called the [[Vatican City Championship]], with eight teams, including, for example, the Swiss Guard's [[FC Guardia]] and police and museum guard teams.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life in the Guard |url=https://www.guardiasvizzera.va/content/guardiasvizzera/en/guardia/vita-nella-guardia.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204065802/http://www.guardiasvizzera.va/content/guardiasvizzera/en/guardia/vita-nella-guardia.html |archive-date=4 February 2019 |access-date=10 September 2016 |website=Pontifical Swiss Guard}}</ref> The association organizes the [[Coppa Sergio Valci]] and the [[Supercoppa (Vatican City)|Vatican Supercoppa]]. It controls the [[Vatican City national football team]], which is neither affiliated with [[UEFA]] nor [[FIFA]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Vatican City|Catholicism|Countries|Cities|Italy
}}
* [[Architecture of Vatican City]]
* [[Holy city]]
* [[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]
* [[Law of Vatican City]]
* ''[[Vatican News]]''
* [[Outline of Vatican City]]
* [[Timeline of fictional stories set in Vatican City]]

== References ==
=== Footnotes ===
{{notelist|30em}}

=== Citation notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Owen |author-link=Owen Chadwick |title=Britain and the Vatican During the Second World War |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-521-36825-4 |location=Cambridge}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nichols |first=Fiona |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IK3TvAEACAAJ |title=Rome and the Vatican |publisher=New Holland |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84537-500-3 |edition=3rd|location=London |pages=85–96 |ref=Nichols69}}
* {{Cite book |last=Petacco |first=Laura |title=La Spina: dall'Agro vaticano a via della Conciliazione |publisher=Rome |year=2016 |isbn=978-88-492-3320-9 |editor-last=Claudio Parisi Presicce |language=it |chapter=''La Meta Romuli'' e il ''Terebinthus Neronis'' |editor-last2=Laura Petacco}}
* {{Cite book |last=Liverani |first=Paolo |title=La Spina: dall'Agro vaticano a via della Conciliazione |publisher=Rome |year=2016 |isbn=978-88-492-3320-9 |editor-last=Claudio Parisi Presicce |language=it |chapter=''Un destino di marginalità: storia e topografia dell'area vaticana nell'antichità'' |editor-last2=Laura Petacco}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Peter C. |title=The Lonely Cold War of Pope Pius XII: The Catholic Church and the Division of Europe, 1943–1950 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7735-2326-5 |location=Montreal}}
* {{cite journal |last=Martens |first=Kurt |author-link=Kurt Martens |title=The Position of the Holy See and Vatican City State in International Relations |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?public=true&handle=hein.journals/udetmr83&div=46&start_page=729&collection=journals&set_as_cursor=19&men_tab=srchresults |journal=[[University of Detroit Mercy Law Review]] |volume=83 |issue=5 |access-date=March 26, 2026 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Morley |first=John F. |url=https://archive.org/details/vaticandiplomacy00morl |title=Vatican Diplomacy and the Jews During the Holocaust, 1939–1943 |publisher=Ktav Pub. House |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-87068-701-3 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ricci |first=Corrado |title=The Vatican: Its History, Its Treasures |last2=Begni |first2=Ernesto |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7661-3941-1 |orig-year=1914}}
* Shaw, Tamsin, "Ethical Espionage" (review of Calder Walton, ''Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West'', Simon and Schuster, 2023, 672 pp.; and [[Cécile Fabre]], ''Spying Through a Glass Darkly: The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence'', Oxford University Press, 251 pp., 2024), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXXI, no. 2 (8 February 2024), pp.{{spaces}}32, 34–35. "[I]n Walton's view, there was scarcely a US [[covert operation|covert action]] that was a long-term strategic success, with the possible exception of intervention in the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] (a disastrous military fiasco for the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]]) and perhaps support for the anti-Soviet [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity movement]] in [[Poland]]." (p.{{spaces}}34.)

== External links ==
{{sister project links|d=yes|q=no|s=Portal:Vatican City|b=no|v=no}}
* {{Official website|https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/}}
* [https://www.vatican.va/ Official website of the Holy See]
* [https://www.youtube.com/@VaticanNewsEN Vatican TV Channel] on [[YouTube]]
* [https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html Vatican News]
* {{Wikiatlas|Vatican City}}
* {{OSM relation|36989|bullet=no}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svaxr4erV_Q Inside the Vatican] on [[National Geographic]] [[YouTube]] channel
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210073743/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-h/holy-see-vatican-city.html Vatican Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20260115003123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ Holy See (Vatican City)]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607084938/https://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/holysee.htm Holy See (Vatican City)] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17994868 Vatican] from [[BBC News]]
* [https://cdm16028.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/107497 ''The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome''], a [[book]] from [[Metropolitan Museum of Art|The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (fully available on the [[Internet]] as [[PDF]])

{{Vatican City topics|state=expanded}}
{{Sistine Chapel}}
{{Catholic Church footer}}
{{Holy See}}
{{Papacy}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Geographic locale
| list =
{{Sovereign states of Europe}}
{{List of European capitals by region}}
}}
{{portal bar|Vatican City|Catholicism|Countries|Cities|Italy}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|41|54|09|N|12|27|09|E|type:city|display=title}}

[[Category:Vatican City| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1929]]
[[Category:1929 establishments in Vatican City| ]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Europe]]
[[Category:Capital cities in Europe]]
[[Category:Countries in Europe]]
[[Category:Christian states]]
[[Category:Catholic pilgrimage sites]]
[[Category:Holy cities]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Italian is an official language]]
[[Category:Properties of the Holy See]]
[[Category:Monarchies in Europe]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in Europe]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in Italy]]
[[Category:City-states]]
[[Category:Enclaved countries]]
[[Category:Landlocked countries]]
[[Category:Duty-free zones of Europe]]
[[Category:Enclaves and exclaves]]
[[Category:Religion and politics]]
[[Category:Theocracies]]
[[Category:Microstates in Europe]]