Holy See (Vatican City State) Location:
41°54'N, 12°27'E
Holy See (Vatican City State) Geography:
The Vatican City, one of the European microstates, is situated on the Vatican Hill in the west-central part of Rome, several hundred metres west of the Tiber river. Its borders (3.2 km or 2 miles in total, all within Italy) closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack. The situation is more complex at the famous St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, where the correct border is just outside the ellipse formed by Bernini's colonnade, but where police jurisdiction has been entrusted to Italy. The Vatican City is the smallest sovereign state in the world at 0.44 square kilometres (108.7 acres).
The Vatican climate is the same as Rome's; a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to August. There are some local features, principally mists and dews, caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square.
Holy See (Vatican City State) People:
Population
- 2005 estimate 783 (229th)
- Density 1,780 /km2 (6th)
4,610 /sq mi
Holy See (Vatican City State) Government:
Government Absolute
elective3 monarchy
- Sovereign Pope Benedict XVI
- Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone
- Governor Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo
Holy See (Vatican City State) Communication:
Vatican City has its own post office, fire brigade, police service, commissary (supermarket), bank (the automatic teller machines offer customers service in Latin, among other languages), railway station, electricity generating plant, and publishing house. The Vatican also controls its own Internet domain (.va).
Vatican Radio, which was organized by Guglielmo Marconi himself, today offers short- medium- and long-wave and broadband service around the world. The Vatican has also been given a radio ITU prefix, HV, and this is sometimes used by amateur radio operators. Transmission antennae are located in Italian territory. Television services are provided through another entity, the Vatican Television Center.[11]
L'Osservatore Romano is the semi-official newspaper, published daily in Italian, and weekly in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French (plus a monthly edition in Polish). It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Catholic laymen but carries official information. Acta Apostolicae Sedis is the official publication of the Holy See, carrying the official texts of Church documents, but is little read other than by scholars and Church professionals. Official documents are also available on the Vatican web site.
Holy See (Vatican City State) Economy:
The unique, non-commercial economy is supported financially by contributions (part of which is known as Peter's Pence) from Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications.[12] 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.[12]
The Vatican City issues its own coins. It has used the euro as its currency since January 1, 1999, owing to a special agreement with the EU (council decision 1999/98/CE). Euro coins and notes were introduced in January 1, 2002--the Vatican does not issue euro banknotes. Issuance of euro-denominated coins are strictly limited by treaty, though somewhat more than usual is allowed in a year in which there is a change in the papacy.[13] Because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors.[14] Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own Vatican lira currency, which was on par with the Italian lira.
It also has its own bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione (also known as the Vatican Bank, and with the acronym IOR).
Budget: Revenues (2003) 252 million USD; expenditures (2003) 264 million USD.[15]
Industries: printing and production of few mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide financial activities.
The Vatican is the only place in the world where ATM's have displays in Latin.[citation needed]
Demographics
Holy See (Vatican City State) More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See_%28Vatican_City_State%29
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