The location ofVatican City within Europe.An enlargeable map ofVatican City State, including extraterritorial properties of the Holy See bordering Vatican City.
The followingoutline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Vatican City:
Vatican City – anecclesiastical orsacerdotal-monarchical[1] state, being the sovereign territory of theHoly See and ruled by the Bishop ofRome—the Pope, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The territory of thislandlockedsovereigncity-state consists of a walledenclave within the city ofRome,Italy. It has an area of approximately 49 hectares (121 acres)[a] and a population of about 825.[b] This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Absolute judicial authority:Pope, currentlyLeo XIV
Supreme Court of Vatican City (Corte di Cassazione)
The Cardinal Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura servesex officio as the President of theSupreme Court of Vatican City (Corte di Cassazione). The two other members of the Supreme Court are also Cardinals of the Apostolic Signatura and are chosen by the Cardinal Prefect on a yearly basis.[13]
Under the terms of article 22 the Lateran Treaty,[14] Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within 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 Vatican City or in buildings that under the treaty enjoy immunity.[15][16]
Foreign relations of Vatican City – Vatican City State is a recognised national territory under international law, but it is the Holy See that conducts diplomatic relations on its behalf, in addition to the Holy See's own diplomacy, entering into international agreements in its regard.See alsoForeign relations of the Holy See
On the last Sunday of each month, the Vatican Museum is open to the public for free. This is extremely popular and it is common to wait in line for many hours. This image is a panoramic view of one small stretch of the entire queue in April 2007, which continues for some distance in both directions beyond view. In the background is the Vatican City's wall.
Vatican City is too small to host extensive educational facilities, but the Holy See operates 64 academic institutions close by (in Rome). The major ones are:
^TheDe Agostini Atlas Calendar listed the area of Vatican City as 0.44 km2 in its 1930 edition[2] but corrected it to 0.49 km2 in its 1945–46 edition.[3] The figure of 0.44 km2 is still widely cited by many sources despite its inaccuracy.
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Wikimedia Atlas of Vatican City
Geographic data related toOutline of Vatican City atOpenStreetMap
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