The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.
When Constantine I made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire in the 4th century, the emperor gave as a gift to the Church his old home, the Lateran Palace.
Other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. This new empire was meant to be altogether Christian, unlike Rome, which was full of temples of heathen gods. The emperors from this time usually lived at Constantinople or some other place in the East.
In 754 Pepin the Short, the King of the Francs, led an army that defeated the Lombards of northern Italy, who were threatening the pope. He promised the erection of Papal States in central Italy to the pope, Zacharias. This grant, called the Donation of Pepin, marked the beginning of the secular power of the papacy.
Between the 8th century and 1870, the Papal States were among the major states of Italy. At their zenith, the Papal States covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio (which includes Rome), Marche, Umbria and Romagna, and portions of Emilia.
The Pope has traditionally been based in Rome since 1377 when Pope Gregory XI began to reside in a house on Vatican Hill.
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| View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome By Diliff |
HISTORY
When Constantine I made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire in the 4th century, the emperor gave as a gift to the Church his old home, the Lateran Palace.
Other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. This new empire was meant to be altogether Christian, unlike Rome, which was full of temples of heathen gods. The emperors from this time usually lived at Constantinople or some other place in the East.
In 754 Pepin the Short, the King of the Francs, led an army that defeated the Lombards of northern Italy, who were threatening the pope. He promised the erection of Papal States in central Italy to the pope, Zacharias. This grant, called the Donation of Pepin, marked the beginning of the secular power of the papacy.
Between the 8th century and 1870, the Papal States were among the major states of Italy. At their zenith, the Papal States covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio (which includes Rome), Marche, Umbria and Romagna, and portions of Emilia.
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| By Capmo - Own work |
The Pope has traditionally been based in Rome since 1377 when Pope Gregory XI began to reside in a house on Vatican Hill.
Michelangelo designed the dark blue, yellow and red uniforms that are worn to this day by the Swiss Guards who guard the Vatican. The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrived in Rome on January 22, 1506, to provide security for the pope.
In 1870 Italian troops occupied Rome and deprived the Pope of all his territory except Vatican City. Pope Pius IX claimed he was a prisoner of the Italian state and excommunicated all the people who helped invade the Papal state.
Following the incorporation of the Papal States into a united Italy in 1870, successive popes were a "voluntary prisoner of the Vatican" refusing to leave their small remaining grounds as a protest. In the late 1920s Benito Mussolini decided to sign an agreement with the Holy See, called the Lateran Treaty. Under the Lateran Treaty, signed on February 11, 1929, Italy recognised the sovereignty of the Pope over the city of the Vatican. In return, the Papacy renounced all its claims to former Papal States in Italy, recognized Mussolini's rule and agreed to keep out of politics.
The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty, forming the sovereign territory of the Holy See. The name was taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state.
The flag of Vatican City was adopted on June 7, 1929. The flag consists of two vertical bands with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centred in the white band. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of Switzerland.
On the evening of November 5, 1943, a single Allied plane accidentally dropped four bombs on the Vatican during World War II. The bombs fell in the Vatican Gardens, causing considerable damage to buildings and property, but there were no casualties. The bombing of the Vatican was a highly controversial event at the time, and it remains a mystery to this day who was responsible for the attack. The Allies initially denied any involvement, but they later admitted that the bombing had been an accident.
In 1870 Italian troops occupied Rome and deprived the Pope of all his territory except Vatican City. Pope Pius IX claimed he was a prisoner of the Italian state and excommunicated all the people who helped invade the Papal state.
Following the incorporation of the Papal States into a united Italy in 1870, successive popes were a "voluntary prisoner of the Vatican" refusing to leave their small remaining grounds as a protest. In the late 1920s Benito Mussolini decided to sign an agreement with the Holy See, called the Lateran Treaty. Under the Lateran Treaty, signed on February 11, 1929, Italy recognised the sovereignty of the Pope over the city of the Vatican. In return, the Papacy renounced all its claims to former Papal States in Italy, recognized Mussolini's rule and agreed to keep out of politics.
The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty, forming the sovereign territory of the Holy See. The name was taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state.
The flag of Vatican City was adopted on June 7, 1929. The flag consists of two vertical bands with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centred in the white band. It is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of Switzerland.
On the evening of November 5, 1943, a single Allied plane accidentally dropped four bombs on the Vatican during World War II. The bombs fell in the Vatican Gardens, causing considerable damage to buildings and property, but there were no casualties. The bombing of the Vatican was a highly controversial event at the time, and it remains a mystery to this day who was responsible for the attack. The Allies initially denied any involvement, but they later admitted that the bombing had been an accident.
In 1982 Roberto Calvi, known as God's banker because of his ties with the Vatican, was found hanged under a London Bridge shortly before the collapse of the Italian bank of which he was chair, Banco Ambrosiano. Warrants were issued in Italy against three Vatican bank executives held responsible for the crash. The warrants were annulled in 1987 because the affairs of the Vatican bank, officially known as The Institute for Religious Works, are outside Italian jurisdiction.
FUN VATICAN CITY FACTS
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world by both area and population. The whole country is 0.44 km2 (0.17 sq mi), with a population of just 1,000.
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| Map of Vatican City,. By Thomas Römer/OpenStreetMap data, |
The Pope, elected for Life by The Sacred College of Cardinals, is absolute head of state of Vatican City. He appoints a pontifical commission to administer the state's affairs on his behalf and under his direction.
The Vatican is the largest wine consumer in the world per capita. Each resident of the city-state consumes an average of 74 liters of wine per year, or nearly 100 bottles. This is twice as much as in France and seven times more than in the United States.
The largest animal ever seen in the Vatican was Hanno, an elephant given in 1514 by Manuel I, the King of Portugal to Pope Leo X.
The Vatican is the only nation in the world that can lock its own gates at night.
The obelisk that stands at the center of Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City, is a four thousand year old Egyptian obelisk that was brought to Rome from Alexandria by Caligula in 37 AD.
The cash machines in the Vatican City are the only ones in the world that offer Latin as a language display option.
When Switzerland joined the United Nations in 2002, it left the Vatican City as the last widely recognized state without full UN membership. Kosovo (not recognized by enough UN members) and Taiwan (place was taken by China in 1971) also aren't members.
Vatican City is one of three countries completely surrounded by one other country. The other two are Lesotho and San Marino.
Vatican City is one of two states where divorce is forbidden, the other one being The Philippines.
According to the Herald Sun in March 2011, there were "only 32 female citizens" residing in the "smallest state in the world." As of February 2013, the majority of those women are from Italy.
Vatican City is the only country in the world in which women cannot vote.
Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia
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