The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)
Santa Sede (Stato della Cittá del Vaticano)
CAPITAL : Vatican City
FLAG : The flag consists of two vertical stripes, yellow at the hoist and white at the fly. On the white field, in yellow, are the crossed keys of St. Peter, the first pope, surmounted by the papal tiara (triple crown).
ANTHEM : Pontifical March (no words).
MONETARY UNIT : In 1930, after a lapse of 60 years, the Vatican resumed issuance of its own coinage— the lira ( L )—but it agreed to issue no more than 300 million lire in any year. There are coins of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 lire. Both Italy and the Vatican adopted the euro as official currency in 2002. The euro is divided into 100 cents. There are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 euro and 2 euros. There are notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. The Vatican lira is fixed at 1,936.17 lire per euro. As of May 2003, €1 = $1.0977 (or $1 = €0.911).
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is in use.
HOLIDAYS : Roman Catholic religious holidays; the coronation day of the reigning pope; days when public consistory is held.
TIME : 1 PM = noon GMT.
Vatican City lies on a slight hill not far from the Tiber River.
Winters are mild, and although summer temperatures are high during the day, the evenings are cold. Temperatures in January average 7° C (45° F ); in July, 24° C (75° F ). There is little rain from May to September; October and November are the wettest months.
The gardens are famous for their fine collection of orchids and other exotic flora. Vatican City, being entirely urban, does not have a distinctive fauna.
The environment of Vatican City is similar to that of Rome (See Italy).
The population of Holy See (Vatican City) in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 1,000, including Italian nationals. It is the least populated of the 193 nations of the world. The growth rate is 1.2%. About 400 inhabitants have citizenship, including the pope, cardinals resident in Rome, diplomats of the Vatican, and Swiss Guards. The population density in 2002 was 5298 per sq mi.
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Although the citizenry of the Vatican includes cardinals and other clergymen from all parts of the world, most of the inhabitants are Italian. The members of the Swiss Guard are a notable exception.
Italian is the official language of Vatican City, but Latin is the official language of the Holy See (the seat of jurisdiction of the pope as spiritual leader) and is employed for most papal encyclicals and other formal pronouncements. As the ordinary working language, Italian is in greater use.
Vatican City is the center of the worldwide organization of the Roman Catholic Church and the seat of the pope. Roman Catholicism is the official religion and the primary business of the state itself.
Vatican City is easily reached by the public transportation system of Rome. It has its own railroad station, with 862 m (2,828 ft) of track, which connect to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station. Vatican City also has a helicopter landing pad.
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Vatican City's diplomatic relations are conducted by its secretariat of state and the Council for Public Affairs of the Church. The Vatican has permanent observer status at the UN, IOM, OAS, WHO, and WTO. It is a member of IAEA, ITU, OSCE, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, and WIPO.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 1992 the Holy See's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $92 million. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange.
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Electric power is supplied by Italy, but the Vatican's generating plant had a capacity of 5,000 kW in 1990.
A studio in the Vatican produces mosaic work, and a sewing establishment produces uniforms. There is a large printing plant, the Vatican Polyglot Press.
The Vatican promotes the study of science and mathematics through the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which dates from 1603. The Vatican Observatory was begun by Pope Gregory XIII. It has modern instruments, an astrophysics laboratory, and a 33,000-volume library.
The Vatican is basically a noncommercial economy, with no major imports or exports. Primary domestic industries include printing, mosaics, and staff uniforms. Products for retail sale are primarily postage stamps, tourist souvenirs, and publications.
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The Vatican bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works (Istituto per le Opere di Religione-IOR), was founded in 1942. It carries out fiscal operations and invests and transfers the funds of the Vatican and of Roman Catholic religious communities throughout the world. The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See manages the Vatican's capital assets.
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Residents of Vatican City pay no taxes.
Vatican City imposes no customs tariffs.
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The Vatican administers industrial, real estate, and artistic holdings valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Investments have been in a wide range of enterprises, with makers of contraceptives and munitions specifically excepted.
The health services directorate, under the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, is responsible for health matters.
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The Vatican is regularly visited by tourists in Rome, as well as by pilgrims attracted by the jubilees proclaimed by the pope every 25 years and by other special occasions. While there are no public accommodations in the Vatican, special inexpensive facilities are often arranged in Rome for pilgrims. No passport or identification is needed ordinarily for admission to the public parts of the Vatican.
The Vatican has no territories or colonies.
Bull, George. Inside the Vatican. New York: St. Martin's, 1983.
Chadwick, Owen. Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Duursma, Jorri. Self-Determination, Statehood, and International Relations of Micro-States: The Cases of Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra, and the Vatican City. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
McDowell, Bart. Inside the Vatican. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1991.
Reese, Thomas J. Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Rhodes, Anthony Richard Ewart. The Vatican in the Age of the Cold War, 1945–1980. Norwich: Michael Russell, 1992.
Wynn, Wilton. Keepers of the Keys. New York: Random House, 1988.