Aja viide. Aja lugu.

Welcome to the Vatican City Portal

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), is a landlocked country, city-state, microstate, and enclave surrounded by, and historically a part of, Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, which is itself a sovereign entity under international law, maintaining the city-state's temporal power, governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope, the Holy See, and the Roman Curia.

With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 882 (as of 2024), it is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. It is also 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. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Swiss Guards or Schweizergarde are the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. Apart from household and guard units, regular Swiss mercenary regiments have served as line troops in various armies; notably those of France, Spain and Naples up to the 19th century. In contemporary usage, the name Swiss Guards generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of Vatican City.

Various units of Swiss Guards existed for hundreds of years. The earliest such unit was the Swiss Hundred Guard (Cent Suisses) at the French court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guards regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard, (now located in the Vatican City State), was founded in 1506 and is the only Swiss Guard that still exists. In the 18th and early 19th centuries several other Swiss Guards existed for periods in various European courts.

The use of Swiss soldiers as Royal guards and as the Pontifical guard stems from the reputation of Swiss mercenaries at the time of their formation. Since Switzerland was a poor country, young men often sought their fortunes abroad. Having a reputation for discipline and loyalty, and employing revolutionary battle tactics, they were considered the most powerful troops of the 15th century, until their methods were refined by the Landsknechte in the early 16th century.

More selected articles

More...

Selected image

Credit: George Peter Alexander Healy

Vatican during the Savoyard Era 1870-1929 describes the relation of the Vatican to Italy, after 1870, which marked the end of the Papal State and 1929, when the papacy regained autonomy in the Lateran Treaty.

More selected pictures

Read more

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Vatican City-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Vatican Museums' "New Wing", built by Raffaele Stern (1774–1820) (from Vatican City)
Image 2Part of the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 3Pope Pius XI decree and conferment of Saint Therese of France to be Patroness of the gardens, flanked by Cardinal Louis Billot. The Leonine walls, 17 May 1927. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 4The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Crime in Vatican City)
Image 5The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. (from Vatican City)
Image 6Polish ambassador to the Vatican, Kazimierz Papée, was critical of Pius XII's pre-war mediation efforts. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 7Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 8Image of the United Nations member state borders on a map (from Vatican City)
Image 9An ATM in Vatican City with Latin instructions (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 10An early interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the medieval and current Basilicas of St. Peter (from Vatican City)
Image 11The crowds of tourists in St. Peter's Square are a target for pickpockets. (from Vatican City)
Image 12The shortest national railway system in the world (from Vatican City)
Image 13Armenian cross monument (Khatchkar) inside the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 14Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 15The Fountain of the Eagle "Fontana dell'Aquilone" in the Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 16Empress Saint Helena of Constantinople carrying the One True Cross laying the grounds for the gardens using the sacred soil from Mount Calvary. (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 17Enlargeable, detailed map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 18Cesare Orsenigo (left, with Hitler and Ribbentrop), nuncio to Germany, also served as de facto nuncio to Poland. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 19Map of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 20President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on July 10, 2009. (from Women in Vatican City)
Image 21One possible modern interpretation (from Vatican City)
Image 22The Vatican's post office was established on 11 February 1929. (from Vatican City)
Image 23Members of the Canadian Royal 22nd Regiment in audience with Pope Pius XII, following the 1944 Liberation of Rome. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 24Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State (from Vatican City)
Image 25Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens (from Vatican City)
Image 26Territory of Vatican City State according to the Lateran Treaty (from Vatican City)
Image 27Pope Francis in Vatican City, 2021 (from Vatican City)
Image 28The Seal of Vatican City. Note the use of the Italian language. (from Vatican City)
Image 29A view of the Gardens of Vatican City (from Geography of Vatican City)
Image 30A monument to Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, among the estimated 3,000 members (18%) of the Polish clergy who were killed by the Nazis; of these, 1,992 died in concentration camps. (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 31St. Peter's Basilica is one of the most renowned works of Renaissance architecture. (from Vatican City)
Image 32Vatican Gardens (from Gardens of Vatican City)
Image 33View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome (from Vatican City)
Image 34Pay phone in the Vatican City (from Vatican City)
Image 35The Ingresso di Sant'Anna, an entrance to Vatican City from Italy (from Vatican City)
Image 36The 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. (from Vatican City)
Image 37The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are coloured purple. (from Vatican City)
Image 38Musicians of the British Army's 38th (Irish) Brigade playing in front of St. Peter's Basilica in June 1944 (from Vatican City)
Image 39A guard of the Vatican at his sentry box (from Vatican City)
Image 40Gendarmerie car (from Vatican City)
Image 41A souvenir shop on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (from Economy of Vatican City)
Image 42Bernardino Nogara, the chief Vatican financier during the war (from Vatican City during World War II)
Image 43The Vatican City came into existence in 1929, a decade before the start of World War II (from Vatican City during World War II)

Did you know?

... that Karl Malte von Heinz designed the Vatican, Pakistani, Yugoslav and Thai diplomatic missions in India?
... that Sans's boss theme, "Megalovania", was played at the Vatican as part of a circus act during an audience with Pope Francis?
... that the final silent film directed by Giulia Cassini Rizzotto was partly funded by the Vatican and featured Italian aristocrats?
... that one incident in Vatican City caused it to have the highest murder rate in the world in 1998?
... that a Vatican Hebrew manuscript has been used as a source for analysing and emending modern editions of the Palestinian Talmud?
... that the Vatican selected Mary Milligan in 1987 to be one of only three U.S. experts to assist the International Synod of Bishops on the Laity in Rome?

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

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