Geography
The Vatican City lies close to the Tiber in central Rome and is a fully independent state. It also includes ten other buildings in Rome and the pope's residence at Castel Gandolfo. As the Holy See, it is the seat of the Catholic Church, deriving its income from investments and voluntary contributions known as Peter's Pence.

History
Popes in their secular role ruled much of the Italian peninsula, including Rome, for about a thousand years, until 1870. A dispute between a series of popes and Italy was settled in 1929 by treaties that recognized the Vatican City as an independent sovereignty and gave Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. The US established formal diplomatic relationships with the Vatican in 1984. Present issues in the Vatican concern the ill health of Pope John Paul II, who turns 79 on 20 May 1999, inter-religious dialogue and reconciliation, and the adjustment of church doctrine in an era of rapid change. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Roman Catholic faith.

Tourism
Almost all tourists who visit Rome visit the Vatican, while others come as pilgrims. Up to 100,000 hear the Pope's annual Easter Message in St. Peter's Square. The Vatican's art collections are among the greatest in the world. Years of restoration work on the Sistine Chapel frescoes were completed in 1994.

People
The Vatican has about 1,000 permanent inhabitants, including several hundred lay persons, and employs a further 3,400 lay staff. Citizenship can be acquired through stable residence and holding an office or job within the City. A citizen's family can gain residence only by authorization. The Pope is spiritual head of almost 18% of the world's population. The countries with the largest number of Roman Catholics are Brazil, Mexico, Italy, the USA and the Philippines.

The Vatican City operates in the manner of an elected monarchy, as the reigning pope has supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers, and holds office for life. He is elected by 120 members of the College of Cardinals, who vote until one candidate for the position of Supreme Pontiff achieves a two-thirds majority.

The administration of the Vatican City State, of which the Pope is temporal head, is conducted by the Pontifical Commission. The Holy See, which is the governing body of the Catholic Church worldwide and of which the pope is spiritual head, is governed by the Roman Curia, the Church's administrative network. It is the Holy See that maintains diplomatic relations abroad. Pope John Paul II, elected in 1978, was the first non-Italian Pope since 1523.

The Vatican is strictly neutral territory. Under the 1954 Hague Convention, it is recognized as "a moral, artistic and cultural patrimony worthy of being respected as a treasure for all mankind."

Museums
The founding of the Vatican Museums can be traced back to 1503 when the newly-elected Pope, Julius II della Rovere, placed a statue of Apollo in the internal courtyard of the Belvedere Palace built by Innocent VIII; he brought the statue from the garden of his titular church of St. Peter in Chains. In 1506 the Laocoon was added to the collection, after its discovery on the Esquiline Hill before the eyes of Giuliano di Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Scores of artifacts were added throughout the next two centuries and the collections were eventually reorganized under Benedict XIV (1740-1758) and Clement XIII (1758-1769). They founded the Apostolic Library Museums: the Sacred (Museo Sacro - 1756) and the Profane (Museo Profano - 1767). The Christian Museum, comprising finds from the catacombs that could not be conserved in situ, was founded by Pius IX in 1854 in the Lateran Palace and was moved to the Vatican Museums by Pope John XXIII.

Location: Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)

Area-comparative: about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)

Terrain: low hill

Geography—note: urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights

Population: 870 (July 1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: none
adjective: none

Ethnic groups: Italians, Swiss, other

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: Italian, Latin, various other languages

Country name:
conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)
conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City)
local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano)
local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)

Government type: monarchical-sacerdotal state

Capital: Vatican City

National Holiday: Installation Day of the Pope (John Paul II), 22 October (1978)

Constitution: Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968)

Suffrage: limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO
chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Corrine C. BOGGS
embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via Delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome
mailing address: PSC 59, Box F, APO AE 09624
telephone: [39] (06) 46741
FAX: [39] (06) 5758346, 57300682

Flag description: two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band

Economy—overview: This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.

Currency: 1 Vatican lira (VLit) = 100 centesimi

Telephone system: automatic exchange
domestic: tied into Italian system
international: uses Italian system

Railways:
total: 862 m
note: connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station

Highways:
none: all city streets

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: none

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

Military branches: defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City