Vatican City, the Country

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 in Italy. 

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 always also the Head of State and Government of the Vatican City State.

Distinction between Vatican City & Holy See

The Vatican City State or ‘The Vatican’ is not the Holy See or vice versa. It must not be confused like the White House in the United States. 

The Holy See (or the See of Rome headed by the Bishop of Rome the Pope) is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Rite Catholic adherents around the globe which dates back to early Christianity.

The Vatican City State  is the land and properties in and around Rome that 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 (the Holy See) and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. 

In simplistic terms, Vatican City (a creation less than 100 years old) is land and properties in modern day Italy owned by the Bishop of Rome. 

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.

History of why Vatican City was created in 1929

The See of Rome (the Pope) was the landowner of the Papal States (756-1870) which encompassed much of central Italy. 

The nascent Kingdom of Italy invaded and occupied Romagna (the eastern portion of the Papal States) in 1860. King Victor Emmanuel II annexed and absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy most of the Papal territories leaving only Latium (Italian:Lazio, an area about 17,236 square meters surrounding Rome) and Rome itself in the Pope’s domain.

A unified Kingdom of Italy was declared and in March 1861, the first Italian parliament, which met in Turin, the old capital of Piedmont, declared Rome the capital of the new Kingdom. However, the Italian government could not take possession of the city because a French garrison in Rome protected Pope Pius IX. 

The opportunity for the Kingdom of Italy to eliminate the Papal States came in 1870. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July prompted Napoleon III to recall his garrison from Rome and the collapse of the Second French Empire at the Battle of Sedan deprived Rome of its French protector. 

King Victor Emmanuel II at first aimed at a peaceful conquest of the city and proposed sending troops into Rome, under the guise of offering protection to the pope. When the Pope refused, Italy declared war on September 10, 1870, and the Italian Army, commanded by General Raffaele Cadorna, crossed the frontier of the papal territory on September 11 and advanced slowly toward Rome. The Italian Army reached the Aurelian Walls on September 19 and placed Rome under a state of siege. 

Although the pope's tiny army was incapable of defending the city, Pius IX ordered it to put up at least a token resistance to emphasize that Italy was acquiring Rome by force and not consent. This incidentally served the purposes of the Italian State and gave rise to the myth of the Breach of Porta Pia. In reality a tame affair involving a cannonade at close range that demolished a 1600-year-old wall in poor repair. 

The city was captured on September 20, 1870. Rome and what was left of the Papal States were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

In practice Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, they confiscated church property in many other places, including, perhaps most notably, the Quirinal Palace, formerly the pope's official residence.

Law of Guarantees given to the Pope by Italy after Invading Rome

The Italian government, after invading pontifical territory, had assured the people that the independence of the Holy See would remain inviolate declaring that it entered Rome to safeguard the person of the Holy Father. They felt obliged to secure in a legal and solemn way the executions of their aforesaid intention. Why?

All of Italy were Catholic subjects, and it had to answer to Catholics around the world too. Two ways were open to it for keeping its promise. It might call an international congress of all nations having a very large Catholic population, or it might pass a domestic Italian law. Obviously it was easier to pass a domestic law instead of facing other Catholic governments to justify their occupation and annexation of pontifical territories. Before the law was passed, however, Pius IX, by a letter of his cardinal vicar, dated 2 March, 1871, protested against the law in which he said, "it was no easy task to decide whether absurdity, cunning, or contempt played the largest part".

The principal stipulations of the law passed by the senate and chamber of the Italian parliament, 13 May, 1871 may be summed up as follows:

1. the pope's person to be sacred and inviolable;

2. insult or injury to the pope to be treated on a par with insult or injury to the king's person; discussion of religious matters to be absolutely free;

3. royal honours to be paid to the pope; that he have the right to the customary guards;

4. the pope to be given an annual endowment of 3,225,000 lire ($622,425 or £127,933) to cover all the needs of the Holy See (college of cardinals, Roman congregations, embassies, etc.) and the maintenance of church buildings;

5. the Vatican and Lateran palaces, as well as the Villa of Castel Gandolfo, to remain the property of the pope; these articles assure the pope and all engaged in the spiritual government of the Church, as well as the college of cardinals assembled in conclave, complete liberty of communication with the Catholic world, exempt them from all interference with their letters, papers, etc.;

6. the clergy to have freedom of assembly;

7. the government to renounce the "Apostolic Legation" in Sicily, and the right of nomination to major benefices, with reservation, however, of the royal patronage; the bishops are not obliged to take the oath (of allegiance) on appointment;

8. the Exequatur to be maintained only for the major benefices (except in Rome, and in the suburbicarian sees) and for acts affecting the disposition of ecclesiastical property;

9. in spiritual matters no appeal to be allowed against ecclesiastical authority; the civil courts, however, to be competent to pass judgment on the juridical effects of ecclesiastical sentences. Provision to be made, by a future law, for the reorganization, conservation, and administration of all the church property in the kingdom.

Pope Pius IX and his successors refused to recognize the right of the Italian king to reign over what had formerly been the Papal States, or the right of the Italian government to decide his prerogatives and make laws for him. 

Indeed, each of the "concessions carried with it a special servitude, while later events proved that they were not intended to be seriously observed. In the Encyclical of 15 May following, the pope declared that no guarantees could secure him the liberty and independence necessary in the exercise of his power and authority. 

Pius IX was unwilling to accept formally the arrangements made concerning the relations of Church and State, especially the Exequatur and the administration of ecclesiastical property. He did not accept that property had been taken from the Holy See. The endowment granted to the pope, were truly but slight compensation for all that had been taken from him. 

Consequently neither Pius IX nor his two successors have ever touched the aforesaid annual endowment, preferring to depend on the offerings of the faithful throughout the Catholic world. It may be added that the endowment was not sufficient to meet the needs of the Church, nor with their multiplication could it be increased.

Thus Pope Pius IX and his 3 successors considered themselves prisoners of the Vatican, refusing to set foot outside the walls of the Vatican and thereby put themselves under the protection of the Italian forces of law and order.

In practice Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, they confiscated church property in many other places, including, perhaps most notably, the Quirinal Palace, formerly the pope's official residence. 

For the following sixty years, relations between the Papacy and the Italian government were hostile, and the status of the Pope became known as the "Roman Question". 

Negotiations for the settlement of the Roman Question began in 1926 between the government of Italy and the Holy See, and culminated in the agreements of the Lateran Pacts in 1929. 

Thus Lateran Treaty (signed in the Lateran Palace, hence the name)of 1929 brought the city-state into existence. 

Content of the Lateran Treaty:

Three sections—the Treaty of Conciliation (27 articles) which established Vatican City as an independent state, restoring the civil sovereignty of the Pope as a monarch, the Financial Convention annexed to the treaty (3 articles) which compensated the Holy See for loss of the papal states, and the Concordat (45 articles), which dealt with the Roman Catholic Church's ecclesiastical relations with the Italian State.

Highlights of the Treaty of Conciliation:

• Italy recognizes and reaffirms the principle established in the first Article of the Italian Constitution dated March 4, 1848, according to which the Catholic Apostolic Roman religion is the only State religion.(article 1)
• Italy recognizes the sovereignty of the Holy See in international matters as an inherent attribute in conformity with its traditions and the requirements of its mission to the world.(article 2)
• Italy recognizes the full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction of the Holy See over the Vatican annexed with map (article 3)
• The sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction over the Vatican City, which Italy recognizes as appertaining to the Holy See. (article 4)
• Considering the person of the Supreme Pontiff to be sacred and inviolable, Italy declares any attempt against His person or any incitement to commit such attempt to be punishable by the same penalties as all similar attempts and incitements to commit the same against the person of the King. All offences or insults on Italian territories will be similarly punished. (article 8)
• Italy recognizes the full ownership of the Holy See over the patriarchal Basilicas of St. John Lateran, Sta. Maria Maggiore, and St. Paul, with their annexed buildings. (article 13)
• Italy recognizes the full ownership by the Holy See of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo,  together with all endowments, appurtenances, and dependencies thereof. Also handed over property on the northern side of the Janiculum Hill marked on the annexed map. Additionally transfer to the Holy See Convent buildings in Rome attached to the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles and to the churches of San Andrea della Valle and S. Carlo ai Catinari, with all annexes and dependencies thereof.(article 14)
• Diplomats and envoys of the Holy See, as well as diplomats and envoys of foreign Governments accredited to the Holy See, and the dignitaries of the Church arriving from abroad and traveling to the Vatican City, provided with passports of the States whence they come duly furnished with the visa of the Papal representative abroad, shall be allowed free access to the Vatican City over Italian territory without formalities. (article 19)
• Goods arriving from abroad for destinations within the Vatican City, or without it boundaries for institutions or offices of the Holy See, shall invariably be allowed transit over Italian territory (from any part of the Italian boundary as also from any seaport of the Kingdom) free of payment of any customs or octroi dues. (article 20)
• Cardinals residing in Rome shall enjoy honours due to the Princes of the Blood and shall be considered citizens of the Vatican. Italy shall make special arrangements for the free transit and access of Cardinals over Italian territory to the Vatican for a Conclave. (article 21)
• In regard to the sovereignty appertaining to it also in international matters, the Holy See declares that it desires to take, and shall take, no part in any temporal rivalries between other States.The Vatican City shall, therefore, be invariably and in every event considered as neutral and inviolable territory. (article 24)

Financial Payment for loss of Papal States:

• A financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the loss of its loss of temporal power in 1870 including the territories and property of the Papal States. Italy paid 750 million Italian Lire and bonds worth 1 million lire.

Concordat:

• A concordat regulating relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state. It includes how the church and Italy will operate, recognition of the feast days of the church, canon law, exempting clerics from revealing confessions even if demanded by magistrates, exempting religious from military service,  etc. 

To commemorate the successful conclusion of the negotiations, Mussolini commissd the Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation), which would symbolically link the Vatican City to the heart of Rome.

In 1947, the Lateran Pacts were incorporated into the democratic Constitution of Italy.

Territory of the Vatican City 

 Boundary map taken from the annex of the Lateran treaties. Colored areas are modifications of original image for purposes of clarification.

• dark grey: territory of Vatican City.

• light grey (St Peter’s Square up to the steps of the Basilica): territory of Vatican City. Security dispositive of Italy. Free access to public and to Italian police authorities may be revoked at any time for special ceremonial occasions.

• red: The small strip (3 m wide, 60 m long) alongside the northern colonnade is - according to the Lateran treaties - Italian territory and underlies Italian jurisdiction. This fact has been disputed by the mixed Italian-Vatican commission which was in place until 1932 to refine and detail the findings of the treaties. Since this commission had only a consultatory status Italy does not recognize any legal relevance of this dispute.

• blue zone: territory of Italy, but in possession of the Holy See. The area has extraterritorial status and Italian jurisdiction is not applied. The area contains the seat of the en:Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the bigger part of the en:Paul VI Audience Hall, the Campo Santo Teutonico and the German College.

• Other: The light grey area next to the station has evidently been added in by mistake and is Italian territory.

Certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably the Papal Palace of 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.

History of the Vatican Gardens

Within the territory of Vatican City are the Vatican Gardens (Italian: Giardini Vaticani), which account for more than half of this territory. The gardens, established during the Renaissance and Baroque era, are decorated with fountains and sculptures.

The gardens cover approximately 23 hectares (57 acres) which is most of the Vatican Hill. The highest point is 60 metres (200 ft) above mean sea level. Stone walls bound the area in the North, South and West.

The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the Papal Apostolic Palace. In 1279 Pope Nicholas III (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, 1277–1280) moved his residence back to the Vatican from the Lateran Palace and enclosed this area with walls. He planted an orchard (pomerium), a lawn (pratellum) and a garden (viridarium).

History of the Original  Vatican Site

In this originally uninhabited area (the ager vaticanus) on the opposite side of the Tiber from the city of Rome, Agrippina the Elder (14 BC – AD 33) drained the hill and environs and built her gardens in the early 1st century AD. Emperor Caligula (AD 12– 41 AD reign: 37–41) started construction of a circus (AD 40) that was later completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, simply called the Circus of Nero. 

In AD 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, when the northern army that brought Aulus Vitellius to 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 Gauls 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".

The Vatican obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis, Egypt to decorate the spina of Nero’s circus and is thus its last visible remnant. This area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down.

Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. 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 Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter's in the first half of the 4th century. Remains of this ancient necropolis were brought to light sporadically during renovations by various popes throughout the centuries increasing in frequency during the Renaissance until it was systematically excavated by orders of Pope Pius XII from 1939 to 1941.

In 326, the first church, the Constantinian basilica, was built over the site that early Catholic apologists (from the first century on) as well as noted Italian archaeologists argue was the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in a common cemetery on the spot. From then on the area started to become more populated, but mostly only by dwelling houses connected with the activity of St. Peter's. A palace was constructed near the site of the basilica as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (reigned 498–514).

For much of the period of the Papal States, the Vatican was not the habitual residence of the Popes, but rather the Lateran Palace and in recent centuries, the Quirinal Palace. The residence from 1309–77 was at Avignon in France.

Governance of the Vatican City

The politics of Vatican City takes place in an absolute elective monarchy, in which the head of the Catholic Church takes power. The Pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over the State of Vatican City (an entity distinct from the Holy See), which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy. The Vatican is the only remaining absolute monarchy in Europe.

Vatican City is currently the only widely recognised independent state that has not become a member of the UN. The Holy See, which is distinct from Vatican City State, has permanent observer status with all the rights of a full member except for a vote in the UN General Assembly.

Capital: Vatican City

Official languages: Italian

Sovereign: Pope

Government: Ecclesiastical sacerdotal absolute elective theocracy

President of the Governorate: Appointed Cardinal

Legislature: Pontifical Commission

Establishment:         Lateran Treaty, 11 February 1929 

Independence from the Kingdom of Italy 

Area: Total - 0.44 km2 or 0.17 sq mi 

Population: July 2012 estimate - 836

Currency:         Euro (€)

Time zone: CET (UTC+1) 

Summer (DST) - CEST (UTC+2)

Coat of Arms:

Flag:

                    

Seal:

Head of State 

The Pope is ex-officio (by virtue of office) head of state of Vatican City. This function is dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Rome. The Vatican City State belongs to the see of Rome or Holy See.

The term Holy See refers not to the Vatican state but to the Pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, largely exercised through the Roman Curia. His official title with regard to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City.

The Pope’s role as Head of State of the Vatican City is separate from his role as Bishop of Rome.

To make the distinction of the Pope’s role between the Vatican City State and the Holy See, the order of the keys on the coat of arms of Vatican City State (and flag) is the reverse of the coat of arms of the Holy See. The silver key is placed in the dexter position. The gold key represents spiritual power, while the silver key represents worldly power.

The keys on the Holy See’s coat of arms symbolises the power to bind and loose on Earth, the gold key is placed in the dexter position with signifying that the power reaches to heaven and the silver key that it extends to all the faithful on earth, the interlacing indicating the linking between the two aspects of the power, and the handles of the key being at the base to symbolize the power being in the hands of the pope.

The Sovereign’s principal subordinate government official for Vatican City is the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the Governor of Vatican City. Since 2001, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State also has the title of President of the Governorate of the State of Vatican City.

Administration of the Vatican City State

Legislative functions are delegated to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. It has seven members that are cardinals appointed by the Pope for terms of five years. Acts of the commission must be approved by the pope, through the Holy See's Secretariat of State, and before taking effect must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. Most of the content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps.

Executive authority is delegated to the Governorate of Vatican City. The Governorate consists of the President of the Pontifical Commission—using the title "President of the Governorate of Vatican City"—a general secretary, and a Vice general secretary, each appointed by the pope for five-year terms. Important actions of the Governorate must be confirmed by the Pontifical Commission and by the Pope through the Secretariat of State.

The Governorate oversees the central governmental functions through several departments and offices. The directors and officials of these offices are appointed by the pope for five-year terms. These organs concentrate on material questions concerning the state's territory, including local security, records, transportation, and finances. The Governorate oversees a modern security and police corps, the Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano.

Judicial functions are delegated to a supreme court, an appeals court, a tribunal (Tribunal of Vatican City State), and a trial judge. In all cases, the pope may choose at any time to exercise supreme legislative, executive, or judicial functions in the state.

The international postal country code prefix is SCV, and the only postal code is 00120. The postcode of the Vatican is SCV 00120

The Pontifical Commission and Governorate operate from the Palace of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Military and Police 

The military defense of the Vatican City is provided by Italy and its armed forces.  Vatican City State has no armed force of its own, the Swiss Guard being a corps of the Holy See responsible for the security of the Pope.

The Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the personal bodyguard of the Pope and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the end of 2005, the Guard had 135 members. This number consisted of a Commandant (bearing the rank of oberst or Colonel), a chaplain, three officers, one sergeant major (feldwebel), 30 NCOs, and 99 halberdiers, the rank equivalent to private (so called because of their traditional Halberd). 

Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Army with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are armed with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics.

The Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard were disbanded by Pope Paul VI in 1970. While the first body was founded as a militia at the service of the Papal States, its functions within the Vatican State, like those of the Noble Guard, were merely ceremonial.

The Swiss Guard are responsible for the safety and security of the Pope, dignitaries and all papal buildings including the security of the Apostolic Palace but not the Vatican City State (which is the role of the Gendarmeria).

     

The Papal Swiss Guard have taken over the ceremonial roles of the former units. Thus the Swiss Guard can be found guarding the Bronze Door entrance to the Apostolic Palace, entrances to the Vatican and Castel Gondolfo when the pope is in Residence.

The Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano (which means "Gendarmerie Corps of the Vatican City State") is the police force police and security force of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See.

The corps is responsible for security, public order, law enforcement, border control, traffic & crowd control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City but does not provide security for the pope outside of Vatican City which is strictly the Swiss Guard's responsibility. The corps has 130 personnel and is a part of the Security and Civil Defense Services Department (which also includes the Vatican Fire Brigade), an organ of the Governorate of Vatican City.

Prior to 1970, it was a military police called Corpo della Gendarmeria but it’s military functions were abolished in 1970 by Paul VI and the name changed to Vigilanza Pontificia as a civilian force. In 2002, it took the current name.

To qualify as a gendarme, a person must be between the ages of 20 to 25, hold Italian citizenship, and have at least two years of training in Italian policework. The corps is led by an Inspector General, who is the Pope’s chief bodyguard.

Foreign Relations

Vatican City State is a recognised national territory under international law, but it is the Holy See that conducts diplomatic relations on its behalf, in addition to the Holy See's own diplomacy, entering into international agreements in its regard. The Vatican City State thus has no diplomatic service of its own.

Because of space limitations, Vatican City is one of the few countries in the world that is unable to host embassies. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See (not Vatican City) and are located in the city of Rome. Only during the Second World War were the staff of some embassies accredited to the Holy See given what hospitality was possible within the narrow confines of Vatican City.

Vatican City State itself participates in some international organizations whose functions relate to the state as a geographical entity, distinct from the non-territorial legal persona of the Holy See. These organizations are much less numerous than those in which the Holy See participates either as a member or with observer status. They include the following eight, in each of which Vatican City State holds membership:

• European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

• European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat IGO)

• International Grains Council (IGC)

• International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)

• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)

• Interpol

• Universal Postal Union (UPU)

It also participates in:

• World Medical Association

•       World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Economy

The Vatican City State budget includes the Vatican museums and post office and is supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals and tourist mementos, by fees for admission to museums and by publications sales. 

The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. Other industries include printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms.

The Institute for Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank, and with the acronym IOR (Istituto per le Opere di Religione), is a bank situated in the Vatican that conducts worldwide financial activities. It has an ATM with instructions in Latin, possibly the only such ATM in the world.

Vatican City issues its own coins. 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/CE). Euro coins and notes were introduced in 1 January 2002. The Vatican does not issue euro banknotes. 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. Hence because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors. Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own Vatican lira currency, which was on par with the Italian lira.

The 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.

Vatican City has a reasonably well developed transport network considering its size (consisting mostly of a plaza and walkways, no airports or highways). There is one heliport and a standard gauge railway connected to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station by an 852-metre-long (932 yd) spur, only 300 metres (330 yd) of which is within Vatican territory. The railway is mainly used to transport freight.

The City is served by an independent, modern telephone system. There is a Vatican Pharmacy (no hospital) and post office. The postal system was founded on 11 February 1929, and two days later became operational. It releases its own postal stamps, under the authority of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State.

The Vatican also controls its own Internet TLD, which is registered as (.va). Broadband service is widely provided within Vatican City. Vatican City has also been given a radio ITU prefix, HV, and this is sometimes used by amateur radio operators.

Vatican Radio, broadcasts on short-wave, medium-wave and FM frequencies and on the Internet. Its main transmission antennae are located in Italian territory (no longer from the Vatican radio tower. Television services are provided through another entity, the Vatican Television Center. 

L'Osservatore Romano is the multilingual semi-official newspaper of the Holy See. It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Roman Catholic laymen but reports on official information. However, the official texts of documents are in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official gazette of the Holy See, which has an appendix for documents of the Vatican City State.

Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center, and L'Osservatore Romano are organs not of the Vatican State but of the Holy See.

In 2012, the U.S. State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report listed Vatican City for the first time among the nations of concern for money-laundering, placing it in the middle category, which includes countries such as Ireland, but not among the most vulnerable countries, which include the United States itself, Germany, Italy and Russia.

Population and Languages 

Almost all of Vatican City's citizens (estimated 820 people) either live inside the Vatican's walls or serve in the Holy See's diplomatic service in embassies (called "nunciatures"; a papal ambassador is a "nuncio") around the world. 

The Vatican citizenry consists almost entirely of two groups: clergy, most of whom work in the service of the Holy See (including a very few as officials of the state) and the Swiss Guard. Most of the 2,400 lay workers who comprise the majority of the Vatican workforce reside outside the Vatican and are citizens of Italy, while a few are citizens of other nations. As a result, all of the City's actual citizens are Catholic.  

Vatican City has no formally enacted official language, but, unlike the Holy See which most often uses Latin for the authoritative version of its official documents, Vatican City uses only Italian in its legislation and official communications.

Italian is also the everyday language used by most of those who work in the state. In the Swiss Guard, German is the language used for giving commands, but the individual guards take their oath of loyalty in their own languages, German, French, Romansh or Italian. Vatican City's official website languages are Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish. (This site should not be confused with that of the Holy See, which uses all these languages, along with Portuguese, with Latin since 9 May 2008 and Chinese since 18 March 2009.)

Citizenship

Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on jus sanguinis (birth from a citizen, even outside the state's territory) or on jus soli (birth within the territory of the state), citizenship of Vatican City is granted jus officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is extended also to the spouse, parents and descendants of a citizen, provided they are living with the person who is a citizen. 

Anyone who loses Vatican citizenship and does not possess other citizenship automatically becomes an Italian citizen as judged by Italian law.

As of 31 December 2005, there were, apart from the Pope himself, 557 people with Vatican citizenship, while there were 246 residents in the state who did not have its citizenship.

Of the 557 citizens, 74% were clergy:

• 58 cardinals, resident in Rome, mostly outside the Vatican;

• 293 clergy, members of the Holy See's diplomatic missions, resident in other countries, and forming well over half the total of the citizens;

• 62 other clergy, working but not necessarily living in the Vatican.

The 101 members of the Papal Swiss Guard constituted 18% of the total, and there were only 43 other lay persons with Vatican citizenship.

On 22 February 2011, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a new "Law concerning citizenship, residency and access" to Vatican City, which became effective on 1 March. 

It replaced the 1929 "Law concerning citizenship and residence". There are 16 articles in the new law, whereas the old law had 33 articles. 

Vatican citizenship now has four categories: 

1. the pope 
2. cardinals residing in Vatican City
3. active members of the Holy See's diplomatic corps, and 
4. other directors of Vatican offices and services. 

The new law created a new status, that of official Vatican "residents", i.e., people who live in Vatican City, now are not citizens. As of 1 March 2011, the Vatican had 572 citizens, but only 220 of them were living in Vatican City. The other 352 citizens were apostolic nuncios and diplomatic staff. The 220 citizens living in Vatican City were among more than 800 people living in the Vatican