{"id":9197,"date":"2022-06-12T04:00:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9197"},"modified":"2022-06-12T07:20:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-12T14:20:20","slug":"vatican-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/vatican-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Vatican City"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Vatican City, officially the\u00a0Vatican City State, is an independent\u00a0city state<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0enclave<\/a>\u00a0located within\u00a0Rome<\/a>,\u00a0Italy<\/a>.\u00a0The Vatican City State, also known simply as the\u00a0Vatican, became independent from Italy with the\u00a0Lateran Treaty<\/a>\u00a0(1929), and it is a distinct\u00a0territory<\/a>\u00a0under “full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction” of the\u00a0Holy See<\/a>, itself a\u00a0sovereign entity<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0international law<\/a>, which maintains the city state’s\u00a0temporal<\/a>,\u00a0diplomatic<\/a>, and spiritual\u00a0independence<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres)<\/sup>\u00a0and a population of about 825,<\/sup>\u00a0it is the smallest state in the world by both area and\u00a0population<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0As governed by the Holy See, the Vatican City State is an\u00a0ecclesiastical<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0sacerdotal<\/a>–monarchical<\/a>\u00a0state (a type of\u00a0theocracy<\/a>) ruled by the\u00a0pope<\/a>\u00a0who is the\u00a0bishop of Rome<\/a>\u00a0and head of the\u00a0Catholic Church<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The highest state functionaries are all\u00a0Catholic clergy<\/a>\u00a0of various national origins. After the\u00a0Avignon Papacy<\/a>\u00a0(1309\u20131437),<\/sup>\u00a0the popes have mainly resided at the\u00a0Apostolic Palace<\/a>\u00a0within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the\u00a0Quirinal Palace<\/a>\u00a0in Rome or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

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Vatican City on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Holy See dates back to\u00a0Early Christianity<\/a>\u00a0and is the principal\u00a0episcopal see<\/a> of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptized Catholic Christians in the world as of 2018 in the\u00a0Latin Church<\/a>\u00a0and 23\u00a0Eastern Catholic Churches<\/a>.\u00a0The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the\u00a0Lateran Treaty<\/a>\u00a0between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation,<\/sup>\u00a0not as a vestige of the much larger\u00a0Papal States<\/a>\u00a0(756\u20131870), which had previously encompassed much of central Italy.<\/p>\n

Within the Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as\u00a0St. Peter’s Basilica<\/a>, the\u00a0Sistine Chapel<\/a>, and the\u00a0Vatican Museums<\/a>. They feature some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique\u00a0economy of Vatican City<\/a>\u00a0is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of\u00a0postage stamps<\/a>\u00a0and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Early history:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The name “Vatican” was already in use in the time of the\u00a0Roman Republic<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0Ager Vaticanus<\/a><\/i>, a marshy area on the west bank of the\u00a0Tiber<\/a>\u00a0across from the city of Rome, located between the\u00a0Janiculum<\/a>, the\u00a0Vatican Hill<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Monte Mario<\/a>, down to the\u00a0Aventine Hill<\/a>\u00a0and up to the confluence of the\u00a0Cremera<\/a> creek.<\/p>\n

Because of its vicinity to their arch-fiend, the\u00a0Etruscan<\/a>\u00a0city of\u00a0Veii<\/a>\u00a0(another naming for the\u00a0Ager Vaticanus<\/i>\u00a0was\u00a0Ripa Veientana<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0Ripa Etrusca<\/i>) and for being subjected to the floods of the\u00a0Tiber<\/a>, the Romans considered this originally uninhabited part of Rome insalubrious and ominous.<\/p>\n

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The Vatican obelisk, originally taken from Egypt by Caligula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The particularly low quality of Vatican wine, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet\u00a0Martial<\/a>\u00a0(40 \u2013 between AD 102 and 104).<\/sup>\u00a0Tacitus<\/a>\u00a0wrote, that in AD 69, the\u00a0Year of the Four Emperors<\/a>, when the northern army that brought\u00a0Vitellius<\/a>\u00a0to power arrived in Rome, “a large proportion camped in the unhealthy districts of the Vatican, which resulted in many deaths among the common soldiery; and the Tiber being close by, the inability of the\u00a0Gauls<\/a> and Germans to bear the heat and the consequent greed with which they drank from the stream weakened their bodies, which were already an easy prey to disease”.<\/p>\n

The toponym\u00a0Ager Vaticanus<\/i>\u00a0is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared,\u00a0Vaticanus<\/i>, denoting an area much more restricted: the\u00a0Vatican hill<\/a>, today’s\u00a0St. Peter’s Square<\/a>, and possibly today’s\u00a0Via della Conciliazione<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under the\u00a0Roman Empire<\/a>, many villas were constructed there, after\u00a0Agrippina the Elder<\/a>\u00a0(14 BC\u201318 October\u00a0AD<\/a>\u00a033) drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD 40, her son, Emperor\u00a0Caligula<\/a>\u00a0(31 August AD 12\u201324 January AD 41; r. 37\u201341) built in her gardens a circus for charioteers (AD 40) that was later completed by\u00a0Nero<\/a>, the\u00a0Circus Gaii et Neronis<\/i>,<\/sup>usually called, simply, the\u00a0Circus of Nero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Vatican Obelisk<\/a>\u00a0was originally taken by\u00a0Caligula<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Heliopolis<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Egypt<\/a>\u00a0to decorate the\u00a0spina<\/i>\u00a0of his\u00a0circus<\/a>\u00a0and is thus its last visible remnant.<\/sup>\u00a0This area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the\u00a0Great Fire of Rome<\/a>\u00a0in AD 64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that\u00a0Saint Peter<\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0crucified upside-down<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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View of St. Peter’s Square from the top of Michelangelo’s dome<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the <\/span>Via Cornelia<\/a>. Funeral monuments and mausoleums, and small tombs, as well as altars to pagan gods of all kinds of polytheistic religions, were constructed lasting until before the construction of the\u00a0<\/span>Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter<\/a>\u00a0in the first half of the 4th century. A shrine dedicated to the\u00a0<\/span>Phrygian<\/a>\u00a0goddess\u00a0<\/span>Cybele<\/a>\u00a0and her consort\u00a0<\/span>Attis<\/a>\u00a0remained active long after the ancient Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Remains of this ancient\u00a0<\/span>necropolis<\/a>\u00a0were brought to light sporadically during renovations by various popes throughout the centuries, increasing in frequency during the\u00a0<\/span>Renaissance<\/a>\u00a0until it was systematically excavated by orders of\u00a0<\/span>Pope Pius XII<\/a>\u00a0from 1939 to 1941. The Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the\u00a0<\/span>tomb of Saint Peter<\/a>, buried in that cemetery.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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An interpretation of the relative locations of the circus, and the\u00a0medieval\u00a0and\u00a0current\u00a0Basilicas of St. Peter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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From then on, the area became more populated in connection with activity at the basilica. A palace was constructed nearby as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of <\/span>Pope Symmachus<\/a> (reigned 498\u2013514).<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Papal States:<\/span><\/h3>\n
Popes gradually came to have a secular role as governors of regions near Rome. They ruled the\u00a0Papal States<\/a>, which covered a large portion of the\u00a0Italian peninsula<\/a>, for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the\u00a0newly created<\/a>\u00a0Kingdom of Italy<\/a>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For most of this time the popes did not live at the Vatican. The <\/span>Lateran Palace<\/a>, on the opposite side of Rome, was their habitual residence for about a thousand years. From 1309 to 1377, they lived at\u00a0<\/span>Avignon<\/a>\u00a0in France. On their return to Rome they chose to live at the Vatican. They moved to the\u00a0<\/span>Quirinal Palace<\/a>\u00a0in 1583, after work on it was completed under\u00a0<\/span>Pope Paul V<\/a>\u00a0(1605\u20131621), but on the\u00a0<\/span>capture of Rome<\/a>\u00a0in 1870 retired to the Vatican, and what had been their residence became that of the\u00a0<\/span>King of Italy<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Italian peninsula in 1796. The Papal States in central Italy are colored purple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Italian unification:<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n

In 1870, the Pope’s holdings were left in an uncertain situation when\u00a0Rome itself was annexed<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Piedmont<\/a>-led forces which had\u00a0united the rest of Italy<\/a>, after a nominal resistance by the papal forces. Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the “Roman Question”.<\/p>\n

Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, it confiscated church property in many places. In 1871, the Quirinal Palace was confiscated by the King of Italy and became the royal palace. Thereafter, the popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls, and certain papal prerogatives were recognized by the\u00a0Law of Guarantees<\/a>, including the right to send and receive ambassadors. But the Popes did not recognize the Italian king’s right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until the dispute was resolved in 1929; Pope Pius IX<\/a>\u00a0(1846\u20131878), the last ruler of the Papal States, was referred to as a “prisoner in the Vatican<\/a>“. Forced to give up secular power, the popes focused on spiritual issues.<\/p>\n

Lateran treaties:<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n

This situation was resolved on 11 February 1929, when the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy was signed by\u00a0Prime Minister and Head of Government<\/a>\u00a0Benito Mussolini<\/a>\u00a0on behalf of King\u00a0Victor Emmanuel III<\/a>\u00a0and by\u00a0Cardinal Secretary of State<\/a>\u00a0Pietro Gasparri<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0Pope Pius XI<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup> The treaty, which became effective on 7 June 1929, established the independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy.<\/p>\n

World War II:<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n
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Bands of the British army’s 38th Brigade playing in front of St Peter’s Basilica, June 1944<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Holy See, which ruled Vatican City, pursued a policy of neutrality during <\/span>World War II<\/a>, under the leadership of\u00a0<\/span>Pope Pius XII<\/a>. Although German troops occupied the city of Rome after the September 1943\u00a0<\/span>Armistice of Cassibile<\/a>, and the\u00a0<\/span>Allies<\/a>\u00a0from 1944, they respected Vatican City as neutral territory.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0One of the main diplomatic priorities of the\u00a0<\/span>bishop of Rome<\/a>\u00a0was to prevent the bombing of the city; so sensitive was the pontiff that he protested even the British air dropping of pamphlets over Rome, claiming that the few landing within the city-state violated the Vatican’s neutrality.<\/span><\/sup> The British policy, as expressed in the minutes of a Cabinet meeting, was: “that we should on no account molest the Vatican City, but that our action as regards the rest of Rome would depend upon how far the Italian government observed the rules of war”.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After the US entered into the war, the US opposed such a bombing, fearful of offending Catholic members of its military forces, but said that “they could not stop the British from bombing Rome if the British so decided”. The US military even exempted Catholic pilots and crew from air raids on Rome and other Church holdings, unless voluntarily agreed upon. Notably, with the exception of Rome, and presumably the possibility of the Vatican, no Catholic US pilot or air crew refused a mission within German-held Italy. The British uncompromisingly said “they would bomb Rome whenever the needs of the war demanded”.<\/sup>\u00a0In December 1942, the UK’s envoy suggested to the Holy See that Rome be declared an “open city<\/a>“, a suggestion that the Holy See took more seriously than was probably meant by the UK, who did not want Rome to be an open city, but Mussolini rejected the suggestion when the Holy See put it to him. In connection with the\u00a0Allied invasion of Sicily<\/a>, 500 US aircraft\u00a0bombed Rome on 19 July 1943<\/a>, aiming particularly at the railway hub. Some 1,500 people were killed; Pius XII himself, who had been described in the previous month as “worried sick” about the possible bombing, viewed the aftermath. Another raid took place on 13 August 1943, after Mussolini had been\u00a0ousted from power<\/a>.<\/sup> On the following day, the new government declared Rome an open city, after consulting the Holy See on the wording of the declaration, but the UK had decided that they would never recognize Rome as an open city.<\/p>\n

Post-war history:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Pius XII had refrained from creating\u00a0cardinals<\/a>\u00a0during the war. By the end of World War II, there were several prominent vacancies:\u00a0Cardinal Secretary of State<\/a>,\u00a0Camerlengo<\/a>,\u00a0Chancellor<\/a>, and Prefect for the\u00a0Congregation for the Religious<\/a>\u00a0among them.<\/sup>\u00a0Pius XII\u00a0created 32 cardinals in early 1946<\/a>, having announced his intentions to do so in his preceding Christmas message.<\/p>\n

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Pius XII<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0Pontifical Military Corps<\/a>, except for the\u00a0Swiss Guard<\/a>, was disbanded by will of\u00a0Paul VI<\/a>, as expressed in a letter of 14 September 1970.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Gendarmerie Corps<\/a>\u00a0was transformed into a civilian\u00a0police<\/a>\u00a0and security force.<\/p>\n

In 1984, a new\u00a0concordat<\/a>\u00a0between the Holy See and Italy modified certain provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Catholic Christianity as the Italian state religion, a position given to it by a statute of the\u00a0Kingdom of Sardinia<\/a> of 1848.<\/p>\n

Construction in 1995 of a new guest house,\u00a0Domus Sanctae Marthae<\/a>, adjacent to St Peter’s Basilica was criticized by Italian environmental groups, backed by Italian politicians. They claimed the new building would block views of the Basilica from nearby Italian apartments.<\/sup>\u00a0For a short while the plans strained the relations between the Vatican and the Italian government. The head of the Vatican’s Department of Technical Services robustly rejected challenges to the Vatican State’s right to build within its borders.<\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n

Geography:<\/span><\/h2>\n

The name “Vatican” was already in use in the time of the\u00a0Roman Republic<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0Ager Vaticanus<\/a><\/i>, a marshy area on the west bank of the\u00a0Tiber<\/a>\u00a0across from the city of Rome, located between the\u00a0Janiculum<\/a>, the\u00a0Vatican Hill<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Monte Mario<\/a>, down to the\u00a0Aventine Hill<\/a>\u00a0and up to the confluence of the\u00a0Cremera<\/a>\u00a0creek.<\/sup>\u00a0The territory of Vatican City is part of the Vatican Hill, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It is in this territory that\u00a0St. Peter’s Basilica<\/a>, the\u00a0Apostolic Palace<\/a>, the\u00a0Sistine Chapel<\/a>, and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman\u00a0rione<\/a><\/i>\u00a0of\u00a0Borgo<\/a>\u00a0until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of\u00a0Leo IV<\/a>\u00a0(847\u2013855), and later expanded by the current fortification walls, built under\u00a0Paul III<\/a>\u00a0(1534\u20131549),\u00a0Pius IV<\/a>\u00a0(1559\u20131565), and\u00a0Urban VIII<\/a> (1623\u20131644).
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Map of Vatican City, highlighting notable buildings and the Vatican gardens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the\u00a0Lateran Treaty<\/a>\u00a0of 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.<\/p>\n

The territory includes\u00a0St. Peter’s Square<\/a>, distinguished from the territory of Italy only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio\u00a0XII. St. Peter’s Square is reached through the\u00a0Via della Conciliazione<\/a>\u00a0which runs from close to the Tiber to St. Peter’s. This grand approach was constructed by\u00a0Benito Mussolini<\/a>\u00a0after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty.<\/p>\n

According to the Lateran Treaty, certain\u00a0properties of the Holy See<\/a>\u00a0that are located in Italian territory, most notably the\u00a0Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0major basilicas<\/a>, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign\u00a0embassies<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup> These properties, scattered all over Rome and Italy, house essential offices and institutions necessary to the character and mission of the Holy See.<\/p>\n

Castel Gandolfo and the named basilicas are patrolled internally by\u00a0police agents of Vatican City State<\/a>\u00a0and not by\u00a0Italian police<\/a>. According to the Lateran Treaty (Art. 3) St. Peter’s Square, up to but not including the steps leading to the basilica, is normally patrolled by the Italian police.<\/p>\n

There are no passport controls for visitors entering Vatican City from the surrounding Italian territory. There is free public access to Saint Peter’s Square and Basilica and, on the occasion of papal general audiences, to the hall in which they are held. For these audiences and for major ceremonies in Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, tickets free of charge must be obtained beforehand. The Vatican Museums, incorporating the Sistine Chapel, usually charge an entrance fee. There is no general public access to the gardens, but guided tours for small groups can be arranged to the gardens and excavations under the basilica. Other places are open to only those individuals who have business to transact there.<\/p>\n

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St. Peter’s Square, the basilica and obelisk, from Piazza Pio XII<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n

The Vatican City State budget includes the\u00a0Vatican Museums<\/a>\u00a0and post office and is supported financially by the sale of\u00a0stamps<\/a>,\u00a0coins<\/a>, medals and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by publications sales.<\/sup>\u00a0The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.<\/sup>\u00a0Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms. There is a\u00a0Vatican Pharmacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Institute for Works of Religion<\/a>\u00a0(IOR,\u00a0Istituto per le Opere di Religione<\/i>), also known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial agency situated in the Vatican that conducts worldwide financial activities. It has multilingual\u00a0ATMs<\/a>\u00a0with instructions in\u00a0Latin<\/a>, possibly the only ATM in the world with this feature.<\/p>\n

Vatican City issues its own coins and stamps. It has used the euro as its currency since 1 January 1999, owing to a special agreement with the European Union (council decision 1999\/98). Euro coins and notes were introduced on 1 January 2002\u2014the Vatican does not issue\u00a0euro banknotes<\/a>. Issuance of euro-denominated coins is strictly limited by treaty, though somewhat more than usual is allowed in a year in which there is a change in the papacy.<\/sup>\u00a0Because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors.<\/sup>\u00a0Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own\u00a0Vatican lira<\/a>\u00a0currency, which was on par with the Italian\u00a0lira<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vatican City State, which employs nearly 2,000 people, had a surplus of 6.7 million euros in 2007 but ran a deficit in 2008 of over 15 million euros.<\/p>\n

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Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2012, the US Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report listed Vatican City for the first time among the nations of concern for\u00a0money-laundering<\/a>, placing it in the middle category, which includes countries such as\u00a0Ireland<\/a>, but not among the most vulnerable countries, which include the United States itself,\u00a0Germany<\/a>, Italy, and\u00a0Russia<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

On 24 February 2014 the Vatican announced it was establishing a secretariat for the economy, to be responsible for all economic, financial and administrative activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State, headed by Cardinal\u00a0George Pell<\/a>. This followed the charging of two senior clerics including a\u00a0monsignor<\/a>\u00a0with money laundering offences. Pope Francis also appointed an auditor-general authorized to carry out random audits of any agency at any time, and engaged a US financial services company to review the Vatican’s 19,000 accounts to ensure compliance with international money laundering practices. The pontiff also ordered that the\u00a0Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See<\/a>\u00a0would be the Vatican’s central bank, with responsibilities similar to other central banks around the world.<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n
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Vatican City Train Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Vatican City has a reasonably well-developed transport network considering its size (consisting mostly of a piazza and walkways). As a state that is 1.05 kilometers (1,150 yards) long and 0.85 km (930 yd) wide,<\/sup>\u00a0it has a small\u00a0transportation system<\/a>\u00a0with no airports or highways. The only aviation facility in Vatican City is the\u00a0Vatican City Heliport<\/a>. Vatican City is one of the few independent\u00a0countries without an airport<\/a>, and is served by the airports that serve the city of Rome,\u00a0Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport<\/a>\u00a0and to a lesser extent\u00a0Ciampino Airport<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is a\u00a0standard gauge<\/a>\u00a0railway<\/a>, mainly used to transport freight, connected to Italy’s network at Rome’s Saint Peter’s station by an 852-metre-long (932 yd) spur, 300 meters (330 yd) of which is within Vatican territory.<\/sup>\u00a0Pope John XXIII<\/a>\u00a0was the first Pope to make use of the railway;\u00a0Pope John Paul II<\/a> rarely used it.<\/p>\n

The closest\u00a0metro<\/a>\u00a0station is\u00a0Ottaviano \u2013 San Pietro \u2013 Musei Vaticani<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Flag of Vatican City:<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0flag of Vatican City\u00a0was adopted on 7 June 1929, the year\u00a0Pope Pius XI<\/a>\u00a0signed the\u00a0Lateran Treaty<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Italy<\/a>, creating a new independent state governed by the\u00a0Holy See<\/a>. The\u00a0Vatican City<\/a>\u00a0flag is modeled on the 1808 yellow and white flag of the earlier\u00a0Papal States<\/a>, to which a\u00a0papal tiara<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0keys<\/a>\u00a0were later added. The Vatican (and the Holy See) also refers to it, interchangeably, as the\u00a0flag of the Holy See.<\/p>\n

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Flag of Vatican City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flag consists of two vertical bands, one of gold or yellow (hoist<\/a>\u00a0side) and one of white with the crossed\u00a0keys<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Saint Peter<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Papal Tiara<\/a>\u00a0centered in the white band. The crossed keys consist of a golden and a silver key, in which the silver key is placed in the\u00a0dexter<\/a>\u00a0position. It is one of only two square\u00a0sovereign-state flags<\/a>, the other being the\u00a0flag of Switzerland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0coat of arms of Vatican City<\/a>\u00a0is present in the white half. The coat of arms consists of:<\/p>\n