Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is a landlocked independent country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city-state’s temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence.With an area of 49 hectares and as of 2023 a population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population. 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 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.

Unsplash photos

These are the most popular photos on Unsplash for Vatican City.

Photographer: Caleb Miller

Photographer: Alberico Bartoccini

Photographer: Jae Park

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