· Vatican City State has the singular characteristic of being an instrument of the independence of the Holy See, and of the Catholic Church, from any earthly power.
o The Vatican is in fact a city-state, not a “Rione”
o “City-state”: A sovereign state consisting of an independent city and its surrounding territory.
o The Vatican is not the same as the Holy See.
· Government
o Monarchy: Pope is Head of State.
o Sede Vacante (time between two popes): College of Cardinals exercise powers.
o Judicial authority lies with a Judge, a Tribunal, an Appeals Court and a Supreme Court.
· Fundamental Laws of Vatican State
o The Vatican ≠ The Holy See
o The Holy See is the authority, jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Pope and his advisors to direct the operations of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.
o The Holy See has legal powers which allow it to enter into treaties and judiciary powers equal to those of a state.
· History
o The area was part of the Borgo rione until 1929.
o The Vatican is the only survivor of the Papal States that were in 17,000 square miles of land in 1859. This land was consolidated in 1870 during Italian unification. The new kingdom of Italy seized everything but the Vatican territory.
o Lateran Treaty of February 11th 1929: recognized full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established.
· Territory
o Covers roughly 100 acres
o Surrounded partly by walls and stretches into St Peter’s Square. A strip of travertine stone that corresponds with the furthest end of the colonnade marks the boundary of the State.
o Vatican Gardens- cover 50 acres
o Vatican Palaces- Between the end of the 13th and the first decades of the 14th century the first Vatican palaces were built. The palaces include the Sistine Chapel (Sixtus IV (1471-1484)) and the present day papal apartments (Sixtus V (1585- 1590))
o Train station - Most railway traffic consists of freight good importation, although the railway has occasionally carried passengers, usually for symbolic or ceremonial reasons
· Vatican Bank
o Istituto per le Opere di Religione (I.O.R.)
o Formed in 1942 in order to invest and increase the funds given to the Holy See for religious works and purposes.
o Accounts are exclusive; reserved for permanents residents, members of the Holy See, the Pope, and some clergymen and laymen who have regular business dealings with the Vatican.
o Located in Sixtus V’s medieval tower.
o Secretive financial institution.
· Currency
o Vatican coins say “Citta Del Vatticano” and have Benedict XVI’s head on them. They are decorated Euros, can be used in Italy as well. The Vatican doesn’t issue notes, only coins.
o The economy is supported financially by an annual contribution (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world (79 million dollars in 2007 and 102 million dollars in 2006)
o Sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos
o Fees for admission to museums
o Sale of publications.
o Investments and real estate income
· Post office
o Stamps (85 cents for USA)
· Vatican Gardens
o Cover about 50 acres
o Cost to tour = 35 Euros
o Contain vegetation from many countries worldwide including Brasil, China, Japan and Australia.
o Also typical Italian plants and trees such as boxwood hedges, pines, cypresses, chestnuts and palms.
· Flag and National Anthem
o Crossed keys represent keys to the kingdom that Christ gave Peter
o The tiara represents the authority of the Holy See and the church
· Vatican City State has its own anthem (Pontifical March) like any other universally recognized, sovereign nation.
· Automobile License Plates:
o SCV = for vehicles belonging to the Vatican City State and Departments of the Holy See
o CV = for vehicles that are the property of Vatican citizens and individuals who, in agreement with Italian authorities, are allowed to register their vehicles in Vatican City.
o The international abbreviation is V.
o Pope’s license plate = SCV 1, red letters, on all three of his cars.
· Security
o Three bullet proof Mercedes, two of which are “pope mobiles” (SUVs).
o Italian government is responsible for the piazza.
o 5 entrances, each guarded by the Swiss Guard and the Gendarmes Corps of Vatican City State (Vatican police force).
o Teams of security guards employed by Vatican City oversee the various monuments within the Vatican (for examples, 18 security guards are in charge of controlling the crowds inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as maintaining some of the artifacts).
o The Swiss
· Residents and Visitors
o Population = 824 people, of whom 450 have Vatican citizenship, while the rest have permission to reside there, either temporarily or permanently, without the benefit of citizenship.
o About half of the citizens live outside of Vatican City. Most of these people are diplomatic personnel and therefore live in different countries around the world.
o The Vatican citizenry consists almost entirely of two groups: clergy, most of whom work in the service of the Holy See, and a very few as officials of the state; and the Swiss Guard.
o Most of the 3,000 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.
o Citizenship of Vatican City is granted iure 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.
o Citizenship is extended also to the spouse, parents and descendants of a citizen, provided they are living with the person who is a citizen.
· “Extraterritorials”
o Vatican jurisdiction also covers some extraterritorial areas within and outside Rome.
o According to the Lateran Treaty, these buildings enjoy the same status, recognized by international law, as embassies and foreign diplomatic missions abroad.
o The areas occupied by these buildings are commonly known as “extraterritorial”.
o Example- Vatican pharmacy located in the Piazza del Belvedere
· Fun Facts
o Vatican radio- link Catholic Church with the rest of the world
o The Radio currently transmits on five channels via land, satellite and the internet. It broadcasts to all five continents in 39 languages for approximately 438 hours a week.
o The Vatican has the highest crime rate per capita in the world. There were 341 civil and 486 criminal cases in 2006.
o 90% of the crimes go un-punished.
o The Vatican does not have a jail, punishment is handled by the Italian government, but the Vatican pays them to do so.
o Country with highest rate of tourism
o In 2007 there were 4.3 million visitors, which is around 8,000 visitors per resident.
Personal Interpretations
The culture of The Vatican is very hard to define. Things that come to mind are religion, control of the Roman Catholic Church, and tourism. It’s a physical representation and home to the Catholic Church, as well as a home to the Pope, so it’s very important to people worldwide. The Vatican is a representation of God, here on earth. Why does the church, however, need to separate itself from the rest of Italy, and become a sovereign state? I think it has to do with the fact that they want control, and they want to separate church and state. They need to express that the church and its power should be separated from the country of Italy, because it is a worldwide power. This creates the theme of borders and barriers within The Vatican. It is not accessible. Only ten percent of the Vatican is viewable to the general public in St. Peter’s Square, and the rest is the Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and over 50 percent is private Vatican gardens reserved for the Pope and the College of Cardinals. The Vatican is not like any other neighborhood because it is hard to access, and to the general public, mostly for “show."
The Vatican’s way of life is simply to govern the Church, and that is it’s sole purpose. That is why it is distinguishable from every other neighborhood in Rome. I found it hard to look deep into the culture of The Vatican because it is hard to look at the restaurants, the shops, the parks, and other venues to identify the differences between neighborhoods. These places don’t really exist in The Vatican. It is easy to define what the Vatican is, but hard to define its culture. The Vatican is a religious area that is very important worldwide, especially in Italy. It is the governmental system of the Catholic Church, but its “culture” is invisible.
The Vatican is simply different than other neighborhoods, because it just isn’t a neighborhood. Is it holy? Yes. Is it religious? Yes. But these aspects aren’t culture. They’re definitions of the area. The Catholic Church is also exhibiting control with the Vatican, and separating it from Italy. This is a theme within The Vatican. Because The Vatican is so small and it is its own city-state, it is very difficult to get a feeling for the area. Being Catholic, I realize that it is important to have a place where people can visit, like the Vatican, and know that the Catholic Church is governed in that specific area. Although hard to define a specific culture within Vatican City, the area is very distinguishable, and a beautiful representation of the Catholic Church.
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