Concept

Vatican City

Overview

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), often shortened as the Vatican, is a 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. Vatican City is governed by the See of Rome, commonly known as the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the Holy See, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, comprising the pope and the Roman Curia. 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, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy.

With an area of 44 hectares (109 acres) and a population of about 882 in 2024, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. It is the only country in the world with a population of fewer than 1,000 people. It is among the least populated capitals in the world. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church; the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. The Holy See dates to early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which in 2018 had about 1.329 billion baptized Catholics in the world, in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere.

Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as St Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the 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 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.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

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3. De Haereticis.) "That if a King at the Popes admonition, doe not purge his Kingdome of Haeresies, and being excommunicate for the same, doe not give satisfaction within a year, his Subjects are absolved of the bond of their obedience." Where, by Haeresies are understood all opinions which the Church of Rome hath forbidden to be maintained. And by this means, as often as there is any repugnancy between the…
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
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The reestablishing this ancient order was the object of several statutes enacted in England during the course of the fourteenth century, particularly of what is called the statute of provisors; and of the pragmatic sanction, established in France in the fifteenth century. In order to render the election valid, it was necessary that the sovereign should both consent to it before hand, and afterwards approve of the…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
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This system of church government was, from the beginning, favourable to peace and good order, and to submission to the civil sovereign. It has never, accordingly, been the occasion of any tumult or civil commotion in any country in which it has once been established. The church of England, in particular, has always valued herself, with great reason, upon the unexceptionable loyalty of her principles. Under such a…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
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Philosophers who discussed Vatican City

Related ideas

Opposing perspectives

Benito Mussolini

Place in the tradition

Part of Platonic Academy.

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