Vatican

Vatican

The Vatican / officially known as the Vatican City State, is the smallest country in terms of area in the world and takes the form of semi-elliptical in the heart of Rome, the capital of Italy, which is surrounded by it from all directions and separated from it by special walls; The Vatican has an area of ​​0.44 km2 and a population of only 940 people

Although it is the smallest country and population in the world, it derives its role and importance from being the center of spiritual leadership of the Catholic Church in the world, which has a number of more than 1.147 billion people, as well as from being kept in its museums and archives a group of the finest artistic products of the human race throughout the ages, as well as issues The peaceful and moral you are defending

The Vatican does not take any language as its official language, but the official language of the Holy See is Latin, and Italian in the Vatican is widely used de facto, as is the German language; In addition to these languages, the Holy See recognizes thirty-eight languages, the most prominent of which are Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, and English. These languages ​​cover a large proportion of the languages ​​spread among the world's Catholics

Despite the historical presence of the Vatican, this presence did not become the independent form recognized today, before June 7, 1929 when three treaties were signed in the Lateran Palace between the Italian government, which was then a fascist led by Benito Mussellini and the representative of Pope Pius XI, Cardinal Pietro Caspari, and knew These agreements are in the name of the Lateran Convention; The three agreements organized the relationship between the Vatican and the Italian state, and stipulated that the Vatican, with its present borders, be a separate part of the Italian state and administered by the Pope

It also stipulated direct administration of the Vatican to all churches and monasteries in the city of Rome, based on the Catholic belief that the Pope is the elected bishop of Rome, and twenty-three other sites outside the walls of the Vatican and the area of ​​these sites in Rome and its surroundings exceed the area of ​​the Vatican itself; The agreements also included an annual amount of money to be paid to the Vatican in compensation for the losses suffered by the Holy See after the elimination of the Kingdom of Italy on the papal states, which stretched from the coast south of Rome to the borders of Venice in the north, dividing Italy into three parts

The period after the elimination of the papal state and the signing of the agreements was a period of legal chaos during which the popes were called the prisoners of Rome, because there was no organization for the state of Italian sovereignty and the rule of the Holy See, and due to its importance, these agreements were included in the Italian constitution in 1947

The Vatican is a country administered by the clergy, and these are headed by the Bishop of Rome, elected by the Council of Cardinals, with unlimited powers for life. However, the Pope does not actually exercise any of his powers over administrative, political, and legal matters, leaving the administration of these affairs to the Prime Minister of the Vatican State and various state institutions. The position of Prime Minister is usually Cardinal Canon, appointed by the Pope

The Vatican was listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. It is the only country fully listed on the aforementioned list. Also, the Vatican is represented by many international organizations such as the United Nations and a number of its agencies, the World Food Organization, the World Health Organization, and the International Labor Organization, as well as other informal organizations such as the World Society for Historical Sciences and the World Association of Neutral Medicine, among others

The national anthem of the Vatican, which is the "papal peace", was written by the French Charles Goneau during the nineteenth century for the Mass of the Golden Jubilee of Pope Pius IX

The Vatican Gardens are located to the northwest of St. Peter's Basilica and the Apostolic Palace away from the architectural block, and extend inside the walls that Paul III built to protect the city and strengthen its fortifications. The areas occupied by the Vatican Gardens were considered of a special nature since the early centuries of Christianity, as this region witnessed killings and burials for many Christians who fell during the persecution of Nero and the following persecutions in Rome which are known as the ten great persecutions

The first to establish these gardens was Pope Nikolaos III in 1279 after he moved to the Vatican as his seat instead of Lateran Palace, then Paul III fenced the gardens; Then it was redesigned again during the reign of Pope Julius II at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and then three main roads were paved in it, pine trees and cedars were planted from Lebanon, and a number of artworks were erected that make the Renaissance character overwhelming

Within the gardens, there is the mausoleum of Pope Pius IV and the palace of Pope Leo XIII, which is a donation from the Catholics of France to him. In the midst of the gardens is a statue of Saint Peter, set on a long cylindrical base, made by Filippo Pascarini, which was erected to commemorate the first Vatican Council in 1870

In the gardens there is also the tower of Saint John, inhabited by the important figures who direct the Vatican. Also in the gardens are a number of other buildings, such as the Vatican Radio Headquarters, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Ethiopian College, and the Tibetan College. There are also a large number of fountains, the most prominent of which is the Eagle Fountain and the Blessed Sacrifice Fountain which was built by Mitra Bosco

The area known today as the Vatican, was in ancient times empty of population and formed part of the suburbs scattered around the city of Rome behind the seven traditional hills that form the city limits, on the right bank of the Tiber River; It derives its name from a small hill called the Vatican. This plateau was not among the list of the seven plateaus that convey Italian traditions as the cradle of modern Rome

A small chapel was built on the Vatican Plateau, named after St. Peter's. Then St. Peter's Basilica was built in the sixteenth century; Although Rome was the permanent seat of the papacy, the popes before the fourteenth century had taken center of the Lateran Palace in the city as their center, and attention did not turn to the Vatican until after the completion of the Avingon split, where the popes moved with them leading the church to the Vatican, and was built there During the Renaissance a series of buildings and museums existed alongside the papal palace, papal gardens, and a number of other buildings