🇻🇦 Vatican City

About Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, often shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state. Ruled by the pope, it is an enclave within the city of Rome, Italy, and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church. Vatican City is governed by the See of Rome, commonly known as the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the Holy See, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, comprising the pope and the Roman Curia. The independent state of Vatican City came into existence in 1929 via the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, which spoke of it as a creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy.

At a Glance

Currency & Economy

Currency

euro (EUR)

Geography & Practical Details

Region

Europe

Capital

Vatican City

Population

882

Timezone

UTC+01:00

Languages

Italian, Latin

Calling Code

+3906698

Drives On

Right

ISO Code

VA