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| Amazing Facts of Vatican City, Rome |
Vatican is located inside the city of Rome and appears to be a cathedral.
Legally, Vatican is a country, and the Pope is the head of state. Being a country, it certainly has the authority to decide as to whether any aircraft is allowed to fly over its air space.
According to the treaty entered into between Italy and Vatican in 1929, it shall be forbidden for aircraft of any kind whatsoever to fly over Vatican territory.
According to Wikipedia:
Vatican City, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population. The Pope is also the Head of State and Government of the Vatican City State.
Vatican City was established as an independent state in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. The treaty 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 much of central Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.4 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 have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports.
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 national origins. 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 generally resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377, but have also at times resided in the Quirinal Palace in Rome and elsewhere.
Five Major Facts about Vatican City that you don't Know:
- The Vatican is less than 100 years old
- The only country you can’t be born a citizen of
- The highest crime-rate in the world
- The Vatican issues it’s own Euros
- The only Latin ATM’s in the world
1.The Vatican is less than 100 years old
Yes, you read right, while the Catholic Church has been around for centuries, the Vatican only came into existence in 1929 through something called the Lateran Treaty. It was in fact created by Mussolini which set up the Vatican as an independent state, compensated it for assets lost because of the treaty and banned the Pope from engaging in any international affairs.
2.The only country you can’t be born a citizen of
Unlike other states the world over where if one is born of parents who are citizens of that country one becomes a citizen of it, you can only be made a citizen of the Vatican by appointment to work in the city-state. If you lose your Vatican Citizenship when you lose your job and have no citizenship of another country, you automatically become Italian.3. The highest crime-rate in the world
And you thought it was South Africa! Well, this crime rate is not based the highest number of crimes, or the severity of crimes but rather the highest number of crimes in relation to it’s population. Crimes usually include pick-pocketing and shoplifting – though there have been in recent years, an assasination attempt on the Pope, a murder of a member of the Swiss Guard and incedences of money laundering! With just over 800 citizens it’s no surprises that this rate is at over 130% per per person per year!4. The Vatican issues it’s own Euros
The Vatican has long issued its own currency, in past it was the Lira but since the advent of the Eurozone, it took on the Euro and mints it’s own coins embossed with the Pope’s head. They don’t issue notes and only very few coins, so if you manage to find one, hold onto it, they’re very sought-after by collectors!5. The only Latin ATM’s in the world
The Vatican bank, the only bank in the city, has it’s own ATM’s and since the administrative language is Latin, it’s ATM’s are in Latin. Those who’ve used them have reported that unless you can understand phrases like: “Carus exspectatusque venisti”, “you are welcome” in Latin, you’re going to have a hard time getting money out of them – draw cash before you enter the Vatican and hold on tight to it, lest those pick-pockets snatch it away!Some Amazing Facts about Vatican city
Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.It is ruled by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope Benedict XVI. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various national origins.
Vatican City State was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 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 have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
The Lateran Treaty in 1929, 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 much of central Italy. Most of this territory was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the final portion, namely the city of Rome with Lazio, ten years later, in 1870.
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 national origins. 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 generally resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377, but have also at times resided in the Quirinal Palace in Rome and elsewhere. Previously, they resided in the Lateran Palace on the Caelian Hill on the far side of Rome from the Vatican. Emperor Constantine gave this site 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.
The Vatican climate is the same as Rome's; a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to August. There are some local features, principally mists and dews, caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square.
In July 2007, the Vatican agreed to become the first carbon neutral state. They plan to accomplish this by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions with the creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary.
The name "Vatican" predates Christianity and comes from the Latin Mons Vaticanus, meaning Vatican Mount. The territory of Vatican City is part of the Mons Vaticanus, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the Tiber river, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–55), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–49), Pius IV (1559–65) and Urban VIII (1623–44).
When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that gave the state its form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of the boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed.
The territory includes St. Peter's Square, distinguished from the territory of Italy only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio XII. St. Peter's Square is reached through the Via della Conciliazione which runs from close to the Tiber River to St. Peter's. This grand approach was constructed by Benito Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty.
According to the Lateran Treaty, certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably Castel Gandolfo and the major basilicas, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign embassies. These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See. Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by police agents of Vatican City State and not by Italian police. St. Peter's Square is ordinarily policed jointly by both.
