Artist / Photographer: gadkoij Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. Vatican City was established in 1929 (90 years ago). It is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.147 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. Very few passports are issued by either authority. The Lateran Treaty in 1929 (90 years ago), which brought the city-state into existence, spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756-1870) that had previously encompassed central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 (159 years ago), and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with a small area close to it, ten years later, in 1870 (149 years ago). Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various nationalities. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 (90 years ago) became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377 (642 years ago). Previously, they resided in the Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill on the opposite side of Rome, which site Constantine gave to Pope Miltiades in 313. The signing of the agreements that established the new state took place in the latter building, giving rise to the name of Lateran Pacts, by which they are known.

Navigation Previous picture Back to gallery Next picture View in fullscreen Customize this wallpaper Rate this picture Click on the star to vote Download 1280x720 - 720p HD 1366x768 - widescreen 1440x1080 - 1080i HD 1600x900 1680x1050 - widescreen 1920x1080 - 1080p HD Use this wallpaper Set this wallpaper as homepage Comments

Users who have seen this wallpaper have also seen:

Louvre Pyramid At Night, Paris, France

New York City

New York Skyline

New York City

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne City, Victoria, Australia

Random Buildings & City pictures

Boston skyline

Planet Scenes

Downtown Montreal

Cityscapes at Night

The Dock At Lonsdale Quay

Request deletion of this wallpaper

Claim ownership of this picture