Vatican City

 

History of the Vatican City

http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Vatican_City

 

The Holy See's diplomatic history began in the fourth century.  In their secular role the Popes ruled much of the Italian peninsula, including Rome for more than a thousand years.  In the 19th Century the Popes held sway over the Papal States.  In 1860 after prolonged civil and regional unrest, Victor Emmanuel's army seized the Papal States, leaving only Rome and surrounding coastal regions under papal control.  In 1904 Pope Pius X severed diplomatic relations with the French government for introducing secular education in schools and in 1910 introduced compulsory Oath Against Modernism for all priests.  In 1929 the popes and the Italian state established the independent state of Vatican City out of the former Papal States and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. 

 

Vatican Euro Coins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_euro_coins

 

The first issue of the Vatican euro coins was from 2002-2005 featuring the effigy of the late Pope John Paul II.  Following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005 the Vatican issued special coins depicting the emblem of the Apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Cardinal Chamberlain.  The third issue from now on will feature the effigy of Pope Benedict XVI.  All the coins have an inscription "Citta del Vaticano" and the twelve stars of Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

Coat of Arms of the Holy See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Arms_of_Vatican_City

 

The Coat of Arms is blazoned Gules, two keys in saltier or and argent, interlaced in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned.  It may only be borne by the Pope, the Roman Curia, the Diocese of Rome or by the Vatican City.  The symbolism of the Coat of Arm is as followed:  Crossed keys symbolizes the keys of Simon Peter, the keys are gold and silver to represent the power of binding and loosing given to the church, the triple crown represents the popes three functions as "supreme pastor", "supreme teacher" and "supreme priest", the gold cross surmounting the triple crowns symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus.

 

 

 

 

 

Flag of the Vatican City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Vatican_City

The flag of the Vatican City consists of two vertical bands of gold and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white bans.

 

Cardinal Secretary of State

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Secretary_of_State

 

The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Vatican Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia.    The secretary is required to be a cardinal.  The Cardinal Secretary is regarded as being in charge of the political and diplomatic activities of the Holy See and is thus referred to as being the Holy See's prime minister. 

 

Secretariat of State (Vatican)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_of_State_%28Vatican%29

 

The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the government of the Roman Catholic Church.  It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of state and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of Vatican City and the Holy See.  The Secretariat is divided into two sections, the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States.

 

Governor of Vatican City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Vatican_City

 

The Governor is concurrently the President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State and sometimes called the Mayor of Vatican City.  He is the state's head of government acting with the powers of a premier or prime minister, administering Vatican City on behalf of its sovereign but essentially ecclesiastic head of state, the Pope.  The current governor is Edmund Cardinal Szoka of the United States.

 

Vatican Library

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Library

 

The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City.  It is one of the oldest libraries and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts.  Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods:  Pre-Lateran, Lateran, Avignon, Pre-Vatican and Vatican.  Pope Nicholas V established the library in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin and Hebrew codices.  It's first librarian was Bartolomeo Platina.  The library held over 3500 items in 1481 making it by far the largest in the Western world.  Today the library hold some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula.    The Secret Vatican Archives contain another 150,000 items.   

 

Vatican Museums

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Museums

The Vatican Museums are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church.  Pope Julius II founded the museums in the 16th century.  The museum has works of art of painters from all Europe and all times including:  Michelangelo, Raphael, Fra Angelico and others.  Pope Clement IV founded the Pio-Clementino Vatican museum in 1771.  The galleries here include:  The Sala in Crux Griega, The Sala Rotonda, The Gallery of the Statues, The Bust Gallery, The Mask Gallery, The Muses Gallery and The Animal Gallery.  Museo Chiaramonti museum is named after Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti, who founded it in the early 1800's.  The museum consists of several statues, sarcophaguses and friezes.  Galleria Lapidaria another part of the museum has more than 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions.  Museo Gregoriano Etrusco museum was founded by Pope Gregory XIII in 1836.  This museum has eight galleries and houses Etruscan pieces including vases, sarcophagus, bronzes and the Guglielmi Collection.  Museo Gregoriano Egipico museum was founded by Pope Gregory XVI.  This museum houses a grand collection of Ancient Egyptian material, including the famous Book of the Dead.

 

Borgia Apartment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgia_Apartment

 

The Borgia Apartment is a suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.  Since the rooms were closely associated with the disgraced Borgia family, they were abandoned in 1503 after the death of Pope Alexander VI.  In 1889 Pope Leo XIII had the rooms restored and opened for public viewing.

 

Apostolic Palace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Palace

The Apostolic Palace, also called the Papal Palace or the Palace of the Vatican, is the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.  The palace is a complex of buildings, comprising the Papal Apartment, the Roman Catholic church's government offices, a handful of chapels, the Vatican Museum and the Vatican library.  In all there are over 1,000 rooms with the most famous including the Sistine Chapel and its renowned ceiling frescoes painted by Michelangelo and Raphael's Rooms.

 

Domus Sanctae Marthae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domus_Sanctae_Marthae

The Domus Sanctae Marthae (Saint Martha's House) is a building adjacent to St. Peter's Bascilica in the Vatican City.  This was build by Pope John Paull II as a residence for papal conclave participants.  It also functions as a guest house for those having business with the Holy See. 

 

 

 

 

 

Palazzi Pontifici

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazz%C3%AD_Pontific%C3%AD

 

The Palazzi Pontifici is a building that forms part of the Vatican City.  It has been decorated by many artists including Raffaello and Botticelli.  The Pope intended to use the main room as an audience chamber so Raffaello decorated it with frescoes emphasizing the power of the Church.

 

Papal Apartments

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_Apartment

 

The Papal Apartments are a collection of rooms, both private and state, located on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace which have served since the 17th century as the religious residence of the Pope as pontiff of the Catholic Church.  The apartments have seven large rooms plus a private chapel, medical suite, an office for the Papal Secretary, a roof garden and staff quarters for the nuns who run the Papal Household.  The Papal Apartments were renovated in 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II.  During the renovation a library was added to accommodate the 20,000 books of Pope Benedict XVI.  Three of the last four popes which have died in the Papal Apartments include, John XXIII, John Paul I and John Paul II.

 

St. Peter's Basilica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter%27s_Basilica

Officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and colloquially called St. Peter's Basilica.  It ranks second among the five major basilicas of Rome and its Vatican City enclave.  St. Peter's is possibly the largest church in Christianity, it covers an area of 5.7 acres and can hold over 60,000 people.  This current location is probably the site of the Circus of Nero, where Saint Peter was buried, this is the traditional burial area for the popes.  The dome was designed by Michelangelo, who became chief architect in 1546, after his death it was finished by Giacomo della Porta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sistine Chapel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel

In 1508 Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the vault of the chapel, it was completed in 1512.  On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ.  Above this he alternated male and female prophets with Jonah over the altar.  On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis.  His figures showed the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, The Last Judgment and the Great Flood.  There are more than 300 figures on the ceiling.  The chapel was restored from 1981 to 1994.    The conclave (election of a new Pope) takes place in the Sistine Chapel.  There is a chimney installed during these occasions; if the smoke is white a new Pope has been elected, if the smoke is black there was not a successful election.

 

L'Osservatore Romano

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Osservatore_Romano

 

L'Osservatore Romano is the Vatican's newspaper.  It covers all the public activities of the Pope's life.  It also publishes editorials by important churchmen and prints official documents after being released.  The first issue was published in Rome on 1 July 1861.  The wording daily newspaper was added in March 1862 it is published in seven different languages which is distributed in more than 129 countries.