] Because of their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors. [cite web|url=http://www.cathnews.com/news/604/100.php|title=Benedict Vatican euros set for release|accessdate=2007-02-23|work=Catholic News|date=2006-04-21] 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). This bank has an ATM with instructions in Latin, possibly the only such ATM in the world. [cite web|url=http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/?p=232|title=A Glimpse Inside the Vatican & Msgr. Robert Deeley’s Guest Post|author=Seán P. O'Malley|date=2006-09-28|accessdate=2008-01-30]
* Budget: Revenues (2003) 252 million USD; expenditures (2003) 264 million USD. [cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3819.htm|title=Holy See (10/06)|work=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=2007-03-04]
* Industries: printing and production of few mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide financial activities.
Demographics
Population and languages
Almost all of Vatican City's 821 (July 2007 est.) [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html CIA - The World Factbook - Holy See (Vatican City) ] ] citizens either live inside the Vatican's walls or serve in the Holy See's diplomatic service in embassies (called "nunciatures"; a papal ambassador is a "nuncio") around the world. The Vatican citizenry consists almost entirely of two groups: clergy, most of whom work in the service of the Holy See, and a very few as officials of the state; and the Swiss Guard. Most of the 3,000 lay workers who comprise the majority of the Vatican work force reside outside the Vatican and are citizens of Italy, while a few are citizens of other nations. As a result, all of the City's actual citizens are Catholic. All the places of worship inside Vatican City are Catholic.
Vatican City has no set official language. Unlike the Holy See, which most often uses Latin for the authoritative version of official documents of the Catholic Church, Vatican City uses Italian in its legislation and official communications. [The Vatican City State appendix to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis is entirely in Italian.] Italian is also the everyday language used by most of those who work in the state. In the Swiss Guard, German is the language used for giving commands, but the individual guards take their oath of loyalty in their own languages, German, French or Italian. Vatican City's [http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm official website] languages are Italian, English, French, German and Spanish.(This site should not be confused with that of the [http://www.vatican.va/ Holy See] , which uses all these languages, along with Portuguese and, since 9 May 2008, also Latin.)
Citizenship
Citizenship of the Vatican City is granted "iure officii", which means it is conferred upon some of those who have been appointed to work in certain capacities at the Vatican, and it is usually revoked upon the termination of their employment. During the period of employment citizenship may also be extended to a Vatican citizen's spouse (unless the marriage is annulled or dissolved, or if a conjugal separation is decreed) and children (until, if they are capable of working, they turn 25, or in the case of daughters, if they marry).Fact|date=February 2007 Terms of citizenship are defined in the Lateran Treaty, and laws concerning the creation of the Vatican state in 1929 sought to restrict the number of people who could be granted Vatican citizenship. The only passports issued by the Vatican are diplomatic passports and service passports.
As of 31 December 2005, there were 558 people with Vatican citizenship, of whom 246 are dual-citizens of other countries (the majority being Italian). The Lateran Treaty provides that in the event a Vatican citizen has his or her original nationality revoked and also loses Vatican citizenship, he or she will be automatically granted Italian citizenship.
Among the 558 were: [cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/cittadini-vaticani_en.html|title=Vatican citizenship|accessdate=2006-12-03|publisher=Holy See Press Office]
* The Pope;
* 58 cardinals;
* 293 members of the clergy who serve as diplomatic envoys abroad;
* 62 lesser-ranking clergy members who work in the Vatican;
* 101 officers, NCOs, and men of the Papal Swiss Guard; and
* 43 lay persons.
Culture
The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most famous art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini, Raphael and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state. Furthermore, it is the only site to date registered with the UNESCO as a "centre containing monuments" in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Crime
Because millions visit the state each year, the crime rate within the territory measured against the resident population of some 824 persons would seem enormous: civil offences committed each year corresponding to 87.2% of the population, with penal offences running at a staggering 133.6%: 397 civil offences and 608 penal offences in 1992.[cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2639777.stm|title=Vatican crime rate 'soars'|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2007-11-28] The most common crime is petty theft — purse snatching, pickpocketing and shoplifting — and the perpetrators, being outsiders like the victims, are rarely caught, with only 10% of crimes leading to a prosecution.]In accordance with Article 22 of the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, the Italian government, when requested by the Holy See, handles the prosecution and detention of criminal suspects, at the expense of the Vatican. [cite web|url=http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm|title=Lateran Treaty, 1929|publisher=Aloha.net|accessdate=2007-11-28] In 1969, the Vatican state abolished capital punishment, which was envisaged in the legislation it adopted in 1929 on the basis of Italian law, but which it never exercised.
Infrastructure
Transport
Vatican City has a reasonably well developed transport network considering its size. As a country that is 1.05 kilometres (0.6 mi) long and .85 kilometres (0.5 mi) wide, [cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html|title=Holy See - State of the Vatican City|publisher=Vatican Papal Conclave|accessdate=2007-11-28] it has a small transportation system with no airports or highways. There is one heliport and a standard gauge railway connected to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station by an convert|852|m|yd|0 long spur, only convert|14.35|m|yd|0 of which is within Vatican territory. Pope John XXIII was the first Pope to make use of this railway, and Pope John Paul II used it as well, albeit very rarely. The railway is mainly used only to transport freight.[cite web|url=http://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/vatican/vaticanrail.html#Origini Vatican City State Railway|title=Railways of the World|publisher=Sinfin.net|accessdate=2006-08-08] As the Vatican City has no airports, it is served by the airports that serve the city of Rome, within which the Vatican is located, namely: Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport and to a lesser extent, Ciampino Airport, which both serve as the departure gateway for the Pope's international visits.] Communications
The City is served by an independent, modern telephone system, [ [http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=20631 On call 24/7: Vatican phone system directs thousands of call each day] , 24 July 2006.] the Vatican Pharmacy, and post office. The postal system was founded on 11 February 1929, and two days later became operational. On 1 August, the state started to release its own postal stamps, under the authority of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State. [cite web|url=http://www.vaticanphilately.org/vc.htm|title=The Early Definitives|publisher=Vatican Philacetic Society|accessdate=2007-11-28] The City's postal service is sometimes recognised as "the best in the world"[cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CEFDE1738F934A15755C0A9629C8B63&n=Top/News/World/Countries%20and%20Territories/Vatican%20City|title=Hail Marys Not Needed: Vatican Mail Will Deliver|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2007-11-28] and mail has been noted to get to its target before the postal service in Rome.]Vatican Radio, which was organised by Guglielmo Marconi, broadcasts on short-wave, medium-wave and FM frequencies and on the Internet. [ [http://www.vatican.va/news_services/radio/index.htm Vatican Radio - Index ] ] Its main transmission antennae are located in Italian territory. Television services are provided through another entity, the Vatican Television Center. [ [http://www.vatican.va/news_services/television/index.htm Vatican Television Center - Index ] ]
"L'Osservatore Romano" is the multilingual semi-official newspaper of the Holy See. It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Catholic laymen but reports on official information. However, the official texts of documents are in the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis", the official gazette of the Holy See, which has an appendix for documents of the Vatican City State.
Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Center, and L'Osservatore Romano are organs not of the Vatican State but of the Holy See, and are listed as such in the Annuario Pontificio, which places them in the section "Institutions linked with the Holy See", ahead of the sections on the Holy See's diplomatic service abroad and the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, after which is placed the section on the State of Vatican City.
See also
* Borgo (rione of Rome)
* Flag of the Vatican City
* Military of the Vatican City
* Music of the Vatican City
* Diplomatic missions of the Holy See
References
External links
* [http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm Vatican City State - official website]
** [http://www.vaticanradio.org/ Vatican Radio station]
** [http://www.vatican.va/news_services/television/index.htm Vatican TV]
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html CIA — The World Factbook — Holy See (Vatican City)]
* [http://www.pellegrinocattolico.com/foto/vaticano/city_map.jpgDetailed map of Vatican City]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2twgq0xdLLU Video (YouTube) of St Peters and the Vatican City]
* [http://www.britannica.com/nations/Vatican-City Encyclopaedia Britannica's Vatican City page]
* [http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Vatican_City:_Primary_Documents History of Vatican City: Primary Documents]
* [http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm Lateran Pacts of 1929]
** [http://www.religlaw.org/template.php?id=578 Agreement Between the Italian Republic and the Holy See] , 18 Feb. 1984
* [http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Passetto/Passetto.htm Passetto] Passage from Vatican to Castel Sant'Angelo
* [http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/vaticancity-map.htm Map of Vatican City]
* [http://www.arounder.eu/spa/spa.html Piazza San Pietro in Vaticano] Virtual Tour with map and compass effect by Tolomeus
* [http://mises.org/journals/scholar/lottieri2.pdf The Vatican as a Free Society by Carlo Lottieri]
* [http://www.geocities.com/mp_pollett/vaticinx.htm The Pope's Walls]
* [http://www.stpetersbasilica.org stpetersbasilica.org] Largest online source for St. Peter's in the Vatican
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286 UNESCO site]
* [http://www.vaticanphilately.org Vatican Philatelic Society] Premier online source of information about Vatican City postage stamps
* [http://asv.vatican.va/home_en.htm Vatican Secret Archive]
* [http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html Vatican Museums Online]
* [http://nolli.uoregon.edu/wallsOfRome.html Walls of Rome]
* [http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/vaticancity.html World Heritage Site]
* [http://www.streamdays.com/camera/view/atlante-star-hotel-rome-webcam Vatican City Live Webcam]
* [http://www.vaticanairlines.com Vatican City Airlines]
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