Vatican City

Vatican City, officially Vatican City State, is an independent 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 of international law, which maintains the city state’s temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. With an area of 49 hectares and a 2019 population of about 453, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and 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.

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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