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76-641: The cemetery lies entirely outside the borders of Vatican City ; it is an extraterritorial property of the Holy See as designated under the Lateran Treaty of 1929. Located where the Circus of Nero once stood, during the period of the Roman Empire , it was the site of the martyrdom of many of the early Christians of the city. The cemetery chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows marks the spot where St. Peter

152-731: A body of cardinals appointed by the Pope for five-year periods, executive power is exercised by the president of that commission (who is consequently also the President of the Governorate), assisted by the General Secretary and the Deputy General Secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service. Nevertheless, the Pope has absolute power in

228-512: A homeless Flemish man, was buried in the cemetery with the assistance of Paul Badde, a German journalist and a member of the Archconfraternity, after approval by Pope Francis and reflecting his maxim that he wanted "a poor church, for the poor". Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin first wife of Christian VIII of Denmark was allegedly buried here. Her tomb was opened on 11 July 2019 due to investigations related to

304-469: A juridical entity since Roman Imperial times and has been internationally recognised as a powerful and independent sovereign entity since Late Antiquity to the present, without interruption even at times when it was deprived of territory (e.g. 1870 to 1929). Vatican City is one of the few widely recognised independent states that has not become a member of the United Nations . The Holy See, which

380-503: A population of about 764, it is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population . It is also the second-least populated capital in the world. As governed by the Holy See, Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal - monarchical state ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church . The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various origins. After

456-583: A secular role as governors of regions near Rome. They ruled the Papal States , which covered a large portion of the Italian peninsula , for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when all the territory belonging to the papacy was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy . For most of this time, the popes did not live at the Vatican. The Lateran Palace , on the opposite side of Rome,

532-432: A sovereign state is Vatican City , with fewer than 1,000 residents and an area of only 49 hectares (120 acres). Some microstates – such as Monaco and Vatican City – are city-states consisting of a single municipality. Most scholars identify microstates by using a quantitative threshold and applying it to either one variable (such as the size of its territory or population ) or a composite of different variables. While it

608-511: A statute of the Kingdom of Sardinia of 1848. Construction in 1995 of a new guest house, Domus Sanctae Marthae , adjacent to St Peter's Basilica was criticized by Italian environmental groups, backed by Italian politicians. They claimed the new building would block views of the Basilica from nearby Italian apartments. For a short while the plans strained the relations between the Vatican and

684-402: A treaty error and survived from 1440 to 1826. Its independence made it important in the introduction of tobacco cultivation to Italy . Couto Misto was disputed by Spain and Portugal and operated as a sovereign state until the 1864 Treaty of Lisbon partitioned the territory, with the larger part becoming part of Spain. Jaxa was a small state that existed during the 17th century at

760-552: Is agreed that microstates are the smallest of all states, there is no consensus on what variable (or variables) or cut-off point should be used to determine which political units should be labelled as "microstates" (as opposed to small "normal" states). According to some scholars the quantitative approach to defining microstates suffers from such problems as "inconsistency, arbitrariness, vagueness and inability to meaningfully isolate qualitatively distinct political units". Some academics have suggested defining microstates according to

836-492: Is an accepted version of this page Vatican City ( / ˈ v æ t ɪ k ə n ˈ s ɪ t i / ), officially the Vatican City State ( Italian : Stato della Città del Vaticano ; Latin : Status Civitatis Vaticanae ), is a sovereign country , city-state , microstate , and enclave surrounded by, and historically a part of, Rome , Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with

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912-583: 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 . The government of Vatican City has a unique structure. As governed by the Holy See, the Pope is the sovereign of the state, but he is supported by different bodies. While legislative authority is also managed, in the Pope's name, by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State ,

988-603: Is in this territory that St. Peter's Basilica , the Apostolic Palace , the Sistine Chapel , and museums were built, along with various other buildings. The area was part of the Roman rione of Borgo until 1929. Being separated from the city, on the west bank of the river Tiber, the area was an outcrop of the city that was protected by being included within the walls of Leo IV (847–855), and later expanded by

1064-489: Is no general public access to the gardens, but guided tours for small groups can be arranged to the gardens and excavations under the basilica . Other places are open to only those individuals who have business to transact there. Vatican City's climate is the same as Rome's: a temperate , Mediterranean climate Csa with mild, rainy winters from October to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to September. Some minor local features, principally mists and dews, are caused by

1140-448: Is one of the hallmarks of democracies. Some scholars have taken the statistical correlation between small size and democracy as a sign that smallness is beneficial to the development of a democratic political system, mentioning social cohesiveness , opportunities for direct communication and homogeneity of interests as possible explanations for why this is the case. Case study research, however, has led some researchers to believe that

1216-769: 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. The president is Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga , who was appointed on 1 October 2021. Legislative functions are administered by

1292-442: Is to define microstates as "modern protected states". According to the definition proposed by Dumienski (2014): "microstates are modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints." Adopting this approach permits limiting

1368-614: The Circus Gaii et Neronis , usually called, simply, the Circus of Nero . The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square is the last visible remnant from the Circus of Nero . It was brought from Heliopolis in Egypt by Emperor Caligula . The obelisk originally stood at the centre of the spina ( median ) of the Roman circus . The circus became the site of martyrdom for many Christians after

1444-514: The Allied invasion of Sicily , 500 United States Army Air Forces aircraft bombed Rome on 19 July 1943 , targeting the city's railway hub in particular. Approximately 1,500 people were killed, and Pius XII, who had been described in the previous month as "worried sick" about the possibility of Rome being bombed, toured the affected areas. Another Allied bombing raid took place on 13 August 1943, after Mussolini had been ousted from power . On

1520-647: The Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. The Holy See dates back to early Christianity and is the principal episcopal see of the Catholic Church, which has approximately 1.329 billion baptised Catholics in the world as of 2018 in

1596-732: The Etruscan city of Veii (another naming for the Ager Vaticanus was Ripa Veientana or Ripa Etrusca ), and for being subjected to the floods of the Tiber , the Romans considered this originally uninhabited part of Rome dismal and ominous. The particularly low quality of Vatican wine, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial ( AD  40 – c.  AD 102). Tacitus wrote that in AD ;69,

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1672-624: The Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Tradition states that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down . In 1586, the obelisk was relocated to its current position by Pope Sixtus V using a method devised by Italian architect Domenico Fontana . 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

1748-518: The Lateran Treaty , and is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, which is itself a sovereign entity under international law , maintaining the city-state's temporal power , governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. The Vatican is also a metonym for the pope , the Holy See, and the Roman Curia . With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and as of 2023

1824-518: The Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches . The independent state of Vatican City, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy . Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter's Basilica ,

1900-632: The Passetto di Borgo to Castel Sant'Angelo . There are now two institutes of study and two chapels attached to the cemetery, one being the burial place of the Swiss Guards who fell in defense of the city against the forces of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1870. The Collegio Teutonico del Campo Santo replaced the hospice in 1876 to receive priests belonging to the German Empire or German provinces of Austria, who remained there for two or, at

1976-547: The Pope but also delegated to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State , led by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State . Its members 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 must be published in a special appendix of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis . Most of

2052-620: The Renaissance and Baroque era, are decorated with fountains and sculptures. The gardens cover approximately 23 hectares (57 acres). The highest point is 60 metres (197 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

2128-484: The Renaissance until it was systematically excavated by orders of Pope Pius XII from 1939 to 1941. The Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter , buried in that cemetery. From then on, the land mass became more populated in connection with activity at the basilica. A palace was constructed nearby as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (reigned 498 – 514 ). Popes gradually came to have

2204-453: The Roman Empire , many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder (14 BC – 18 October AD 33) drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD 40, her son, Emperor Caligula (31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41; r. 37–41) built in her gardens a circus for charioteers (AD 40) that was later completed by Nero ,

2280-577: The Sistine Chapel , the Vatican Apostolic Library , and the Vatican Museums . They feature some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by donations from Catholic believers, by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications. Vatican City has no taxes, and items are duty-free. The name Vatican City

2356-526: The Swiss Guard , was disbanded by the will of Paul VI , as expressed in a letter of 14 September 1970. The Gendarmerie Corps was transformed into a civilian police and security force. In 1984, a new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Catholic Christianity as the Italian state religion, a position given to it by

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2432-678: The Year of the Four Emperors , when the northern army that brought 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". During

2508-422: The disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi case, but was found to be empty. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Campo Santo de' Tedeschi ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. [REDACTED] Media related to Campo Santo Teutonico at Wikimedia Commons Vatican City This

2584-534: The British from bombing Rome if the British so decided". The US military even exempted Catholic servicemembers from air raids on Rome and other areas with a significant Catholic presence, unless they voluntarily agreed to participate. Notably, with the exception of Rome, and presumably the possibility of the Vatican, no Catholic US servicemember refused a mission within German-held Italy. On the other hand,

2660-407: The British insisted "they would bomb Rome whenever the needs of the war demanded". In December 1942, the British envoy to the Holy See suggested that Rome be declared an open city , a suggestion that the Holy See took more seriously than was probably meant by the envoy, who did not want Rome to be an open city, but Mussolini rejected the suggestion when the Holy See put it to him. In connection with

2736-513: The Holy See during the period of the empty throne or sede vacante (papal vacancy). Those of the Vatican State remain under the control of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State . Acting with three other cardinals chosen by lot every three days, one from each order of cardinals ( cardinal bishop , cardinal priest , and cardinal deacon ), he in a sense performs during that period the functions of head of state of Vatican City. All

2812-544: The Italian government. The head of the Vatican's Department of Technical Services robustly rejected challenges to the Vatican State's right to build within its borders. John R. Morss writes in the European Journal of International Law that due to the terms of the Lateran Treaty, Vatican City's status as a sovereign state, and the Pope 's status as a head of state, are problematic. The name "Vatican"

2888-440: The Pope's holdings were left in an uncertain situation when Rome itself was annexed by Italian forces, thus bringing to completion the Italian unification , after a nominal resistance by the papal forces. Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was referred to as the "Roman Question". Italy made no attempt to interfere with the Holy See within the Vatican walls. However, it confiscated church property in many places. In 1871,

2964-528: 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 . Pope Francis , born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires , Argentina, was elected on 13 March 2013. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City as well as the country's head of government

3040-624: The Quirinal Palace was confiscated by the King of Italy and became the royal palace. Thereafter, the popes resided undisturbed within the Vatican walls, and certain papal prerogatives were recognised by the Law of Guarantees , including the right to send and receive ambassadors. But the Popes did not recognise the Italian king's right to rule in Rome, and they refused to leave the Vatican compound until

3116-611: The Roman Curia , Black Nobility ). They also formed the ceremonial Noble Guard . In the first decades of the existence of the Vatican City State, executive functions were entrusted to some of them, including that of delegate for the State of Vatican City (now denominated president of the Commission for Vatican City). But with the motu proprio Pontificalis Domus of 28 March 1968, Pope Paul VI abolished

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3192-469: The State of Vatican City, which is a rare case of a non-hereditary monarchy. The Vatican City State, created in 1929 by the Lateran Pacts, provides the Holy See with a temporal jurisdiction and independence within a small territory. It is distinct from the Holy See. The state can thus be deemed a significant but not essential instrument of the Holy See. The Holy See itself has existed continuously as

3268-472: The Vatican City's status as neutral territory . One of the main diplomatic priorities of Pius XII was to prevent the bombing of the city; a high level of sensitivity led him to protest even the dropping of pamphlets over Rome by the Royal Air Force , claiming that the few which landed within the Vatican City violated its neutrality. The British government's policy towards the Vatican, as expressed in

3344-543: The Vatican from the Lateran Palace and enclosed this area with walls. He planted an orchard ( pomerium ), a lawn ( pratellum ), and a garden ( viridarium ). The politics of Vatican City takes place in the context of an absolute elective monarchy and being governed by the Holy See , in which the head of the Catholic Church holds power. The Pope exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power over

3420-492: The anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains, and the size of the large paved square. The highest temperature ever recorded was 40.8 °C (105.4 °F), on 28 June 2022. In July 2007, the Vatican accepted a proposal by two firms based respectively in San Francisco and Budapest , whereby it would become the first carbon neutral state by offsetting its carbon dioxide emissions with

3496-450: The boundary, and for a small part of the frontier a modern wall was constructed. The territory includes St. Peter's Square , distinguished from the territory of Italy only by a white line along the limit of the square, where it touches Piazza Pio XII. St. Peter's Square is reached through the Via della Conciliazione which runs from close to the Tiber to St. Peter's. This grand approach

3572-419: 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 . According to the Lateran Treaty (Art. 3) St. Peter's Square, up to but not including the steps leading to the basilica, is normally patrolled by the Italian police. There are no passport controls for visitors entering Vatican City from

3648-599: The city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano , meaning 'Vatican City State'. Its Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanae ; this is used in official documents by the Holy See , the Church and the Pope . The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus , a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from

3724-758: The city of Rome, located between the Janiculum , the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario , down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek. The toponym Ager Vaticanus is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, Vaticanus , denoting an area much more restricted: the Vatican Hill, today's St. Peter's Square , and possibly today's Via della Conciliazione . Because of its vicinity to Rome's archenemy,

3800-633: The colonial history often determines what political systems microstates have, they do implement changes to better accommodate their specific characteristics. Microstates often rely on other countries in order to survive, as they have a small military capacity and a lack of resources. This had led some to believe that microstates are forced to subordinate themselves to larger states which reduces their sovereignty . However, research has shown that microstates strategically engage in patron-client relationships with other countries. This allows them to trade some privileges to countries that can advance their interests

3876-551: The construction of the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter in the first half of the 4th century. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the ancient Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby. Remains of this ancient necropolis were brought to light sporadically during renovations by various popes throughout the centuries, increasing in frequency during

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3952-768: The content of this appendix consists of routine executive decrees, such as approval for a new set of postage stamps. Microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates have focused on identifying qualitative features that are linked to their size and population, such as partial delegation of their sovereignty to larger states, such as for international defense. Commonly accepted examples of microstates include Andorra , Liechtenstein , Monaco , Nauru , Palau , San Marino , and Tuvalu . The smallest political entity recognized as

4028-757: The creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary, as a purely symbolic gesture to encourage Catholics to do more to safeguard the planet. Nothing came of the project. On 26 November 2008, the Vatican itself put into effect a plan announced in May 2007 to cover the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall with solar panels . Within the territory of Vatican City are the Vatican Gardens (Italian: Giardini Vaticani ), which account for about half of this territory. The gardens, established during

4104-430: The current fortification walls, built under Paul III (1534–1549), Pius IV (1559–1565), and Urban VIII (1623–1644). When the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that gave the state its form was being prepared, the boundaries of the proposed territory were influenced by the fact that much of it was all but enclosed by this loop. For some tracts of the frontier, there was no wall, but the line of certain buildings supplied part of

4180-712: The decisions these four cardinals take must be approved by the College of Cardinals as a whole. The nobility that was closely associated with the Holy See at the time of the Papal States continued to be associated with the Papal Court after the loss of these territories, generally with merely nominal duties (see Papal Master of the Horse , Prefecture of the Pontifical Household , Hereditary officers of

4256-602: The dispute was resolved in 1929; Pope Pius IX (1846–1878), the last ruler of the Papal States, was referred to as a " prisoner in the Vatican ". Forced to give up secular power, the popes focused on spiritual issues. This situation was resolved on 11 February 1929, when the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy was signed by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III and by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri for Pope Pius XI . The treaty, which became effective on 7 June 1929, established

4332-415: The executive, legislative, and judicial branches over Vatican City, and is thus the only absolute monarch in Europe. Operationally, there are departments that deal with health, security, telecommunications and other matters. The Cardinal Camerlengo presides over the Apostolic Camera , to which is entrusted the administration of the property and protection of other papal temporal powers and rights of

4408-568: The following day, the new Italian government declared Rome an open city, after consulting the Holy See on the wording of the declaration. Pius XII had refrained from creating cardinals during the war. By the end of World War II, there were several prominent vacancies: Cardinal Secretary of State , Camerlengo , Chancellor , and Prefect for the Congregation for the Religious among them. Pius XII created 32 cardinals in early 1946 , having announced his intention to do so in his preceding Christmas message. The Pontifical Military Corps , except for

4484-409: The honorary positions that had continued to exist until then, such as Quartermaster general and Master of the Horse . As Vatican City is governed by the Holy See , the Pope is ex officio head of state of Vatican City, a function dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Rome and head of the Catholic Church . The term "Holy See" refers not to the Vatican state but to

4560-465: The immediate vicinity of the graves of the Apostles and with the memory of the first martyrs under Nero, explains the name of campus sanctus , "holy field". The cemetery is owned by the Archconfraternity of Our Lady, formed in 1454 to preserve the grounds. On 6 May 1527, during the Sack of Rome , it was the site of the 'Stand of the Swiss Guard ' when the Pope's Swiss Guards held off mutinous German troops long enough for Pope Clement VII to escape over

4636-408: The independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy. The Holy See, which governed the Vatican City, pursued a policy of neutrality during World War II under the leadership of Pope Pius XII . Although German troops occupied Rome after the September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile , with Allied forces pushing them out in 1944, both sides respected

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4712-419: The minutes of a Cabinet meeting, was "that we should on no account molest the Vatican City, but that our action as regards the rest of Rome would depend upon how far the Italian government observed the rules of war". After the United States entered into the war, US officials were against bombing the Vatican City, fearful of offending Catholic members of the American military , but said that "they could not stop

4788-418: The most, three years pursuing their studies and officiating in the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici. The cemetery is reserved for the burial of members of the Santa Maria della Pietà Confraternity (a confraternity originally with membership only for citizens of the Holy Roman Empire) and members of the German colleges and religious houses in Rome. In February 2015, Willy Herteleer,

4864-552: The most. Examples of this are microstates that establish a tax haven or sell their support in international committees in exchange for military and economic support. A small number of tiny sovereign political units have been founded on historic anomalies or eccentric interpretations of law. Those types of states, often labelled as "microstates," are usually located on small (usually disputed) territorial enclaves, generate limited economic activity founded on tourism and philatelic and numismatic sales, and are tolerated or ignored by

4940-446: The nations from which they claim to have seceded. The Republic of Indian Stream , now the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire , was a geographic anomaly that had been left unresolved by the Treaty of Paris , which ended the American Revolutionary War , and was claimed by both the United States and Canada . Between 1832 and 1835, the area's residents refused to acknowledge either claimant. The Cospaia Republic became independent by

5016-506: The number of microstates and separating them from both small states and autonomies or dependencies . Examples of microstates understood as modern protected states include such states as Liechtenstein , San Marino , Monaco , Niue , Andorra , the Cook Islands or Palau . The smallest political unit recognized as a sovereign state is the Vatican City , though its precise status is sometimes disputed, e.g., Maurice Mendelson argued in 1972 that "[i]n two respects it may be doubted whether

5092-431: The same political system as their colonial ruler. Because of the high number of microstates that were British colonies in the past, microstates often have a majoritarian and parliamentary political system similar to the Westminster system . Some microstates with a history as British colony have implemented some aspects of a consensus political system, to adapt to their geographic features or societal make-up. While

5168-509: The statistical evidence belies the anti-democratic elements of microstate politics. Due to small populations, family and personal relations are often decisive in microstate politics. In some cases, this impedes neutral and formal decision-making and instead leads to undemocratic political activity, such as clientelism , corruption , particularism and executive dominance . The high number of democracies amongst microstates could be explained by their colonial history. Most microstates adopted

5244-414: The surrounding Italian territory. There is free public access to Saint Peter's Square and Basilica and, on the occasion of papal general audiences, to the hall in which they are held. For these audiences and for major ceremonies in Saint Peter's Basilica and Square, tickets free of charge must be obtained beforehand. The Vatican Museums , incorporating the Sistine Chapel, usually charge an entrance fee. There

5320-424: The territorial entity, the Vatican City, meets the traditional criteria of statehood". Statistical research has shown that microstates are more likely to be democracies than larger states. In 2012, Freedom House classified 86% of the countries with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants as "free". This shows that countries with small populations often had a high degree of political freedom and civil liberties , which

5396-467: The unique features that are linked to their geographic or demographic smallness. Newer approaches have proposed looking at the behaviour or capacity to operate in the international arena in order to determine which states should deserve the microstate label. Yet, it has been argued that such approaches could lead to either confusing microstates with weak states (or failed states ) or relying too much on subjective perceptions. An alternative approach

5472-412: Was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus , a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome, located between the Janiculum , the Vatican Hill and Monte Mario , down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek. The territory of Vatican City is part of the Vatican Hill, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields. It

5548-509: Was constructed by Benito Mussolini after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaty. According to the Lateran Treaty, 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

5624-416: Was first used in the Lateran Treaty , signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state named after Vatican Hill , the geographic location of the state within the city of Rome . "Vatican" itself is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum , located in the general area the Romans called Ager Vaticanus , "Vatican territory". The Italian name of

5700-561: Was killed. It is reported that Pope Leo III gave the land to Charlemagne in 799 for a hospice, called the Schola Francorum , for German pilgrims. In connection with the hospice was a church dedicated to the Saviour and a graveyard for the burial of the subjects of Charlemagne who died in Rome. Since the fifteenth century the soil of this cemetery has been held to be sacred earth from Jerusalem. This tradition, in connection with

5776-526: Was their habitual residence for about a thousand years. From 1309 to 1377, they lived at Avignon in France. On their return to Rome, they chose to live at the Vatican. They moved to the Quirinal Palace in 1583, after work on it was completed under Pope Paul V (1605–1621), but on the capture of Rome in 1870 retired to the Vatican, and what had been their residence became that of the King of Italy . In 1870 ,

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