Vatican City
The Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State also called simply the Vatican, is a State of the Italian Peninsula.
It is the smallest sovereign state in the world, both in terms of population (453 inhabitants) and territorial extension (0.44 km), the sixth in terms of population density.
As a form of government it is a theocracy, that is, a form of government, according to which the management of religious and secular governmental activities coincide.
The city-state was born on 7 June 1929 with the Lateran Pacts, signed on 11 February of the same year between Benito Mussolini and the cardinal secretary of state Pietro Gasparri, respectively the representatives of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See.
The official language is Latin and the state bills its own currency, but, as a result of the customs and monetary union with Italy, adopts the euro.
It issues its own stamps, which can be used for the postal service to the whole world (but obviously only with shipment from the Vatican Post Office).
The Vatican also publishes a daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, founded in 1861, and since 1931 a station has been operating, Vatican Radio, which broadcasts in various languages.
Three extraordinary points of interest can be visited in the Vatican City:
– St. Peter’s Square
– Saint Peter’s Church
– The Vatican Museums, where the Sistine Chapel is located.
St. Peter’s Square
The dimensions of the square are spectacular: 320 meters long and 240 meters wide.
On the occasion of important liturgical events, St. Peter’s Square has come to welcome more than 300,000 people.
The square was built, by order of Pope Alexander VII, between 1656 and 1667, based on a project by Bernini,
and in addition to its enormous size, the 284 columns and 88 pillars that surround the square in a four-row portico are truly impressive.
In the upper part of the columns there are 140 statues of saints, made in 1670 by Bernini’s disciples.
In the center of the square we find an obelisk and two fountains, one designed by Bernini (1675) and the other designed by Maderno (1614).
The obelisk, 25 meters high, was brought to Rome from Egypt in 1586.
The most suggestive way to reach St. Peter’s Square is to take Via della Conciliazione, a long road that starts from Sant’Angelo Castle.
Saint Peter’s Church St.
Peter’s Basilica welcomes the Holy See and is the most important temple of the Catholic Church, where the Pope celebrates the most important liturgies.
Construction of the basilica began in 1506 and ended in 1626, and was consecrated on November 18 of this last year.
Various architects took part in its construction, including Bramante, Michelangelo and Carlo Maderno.
The name is due to the first Pope in history, St. Peter, whose body lies in the basilica.
The interior of the Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica can hold up to 20,000 people.
It is 190 meters high and the central nave is 46 meters high, while the dome reaches 136 meters in height.
Among the works of art preserved inside are Bernini’s Baldacchino, Michelangelo’s Pietà and the bronze statue of St. Peter.
This last sculpture has the right foot consumed by the kisses of the faithful.
The dome
It was designed by Michelangelo and was carried out by Giacomo Della Porta and, in 1914, by Carlo Maderno
Vatican Museums
The Sistine Chapel
