What Continent Is Vatican City In?
The state of Vatican City is located within Rome, Italy in the Southern region of Europe. The city-state has an area of 0.17 square miles and an estimated population of about 1,000 people. The official language is Italian. The country is a monarchy ruled by the pope and the high state officials are Catholic clergy. The citizens of the city-state are mostly from two groups; the Swiss Guard and the clergy.
The Vatican City
The Vatican City was formed in 1929 via the Lateran treaty signed between Italy and the Holy See. The agreement was signed on February 11, 1929, and it recognized the Vatican City as an independent state. The Holy See was given jurisdiction and sovereign authority over the Vatican City. The Vatican is named after Vatican Hill, which is also known as Mons Vaticanus in Latin, the location of the city-state. The name Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan village. Vatican or Vaticum means garden. During the Roman Republic era, Vatican was a marshy area on the West bank of River Tiber. The area was drained under the Roman Empire to pave way for Agrippina the Elder's gardens. During WWII, the Vatican was considered neutral territory. Unlike other countries, the citizenship of the Vatican is only acquired by people who work at the Holy See, and one ceases to be a citizen once their term of employment comes to an end. The spouse and dependents living with a Vatican citizen are also given citizenship.
Vatican’s Economy
The Vatican's economy is unique, and it is dependent on the contributions from Roman Catholics around the world, tourists, and the sale of publications and postage stamps. The donations from Catholics are known as Peter's pence. The city-state uses the Euro, and the Vatican Euro coins are a collector’s item as they are rare. The only industries in the state are in the printing and banking sector. The country relies on Italy for electricity while producing a part of the power from solar panels.
Tourism to the Vatican
The top tourist attraction sites include the Sistine Chapel, Castel Sant’Angelo, the Vatican Necropolis, St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican library, St. Peter's Basilica, the gardens of the Vatican City, Vatican Museums, the Apostolic Palace, Cortile del Belvedere, Bramante Staircase, the Last Judgement, the courtyard of the Pigna, Giardino Quadrato, Necropoli di San Pietro, Porta Pertusa, and Sant’Anna dei Palafrenieri. The city is home to iconic architecture and art, and the museums are home to some of the ancient Roman sculptures.
Europe
The European continent is located in the North-eastern hemisphere, and covers approximately 6.8% of the surface area on Earth. The continent is made up of 50 sovereign states and four dependencies. All the countries in Europe are members of the Council of Europe except for the Vatican City, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. Europe has the largest ratio of coast to landmass among all the continents. The Vatican is the smallest independent state in size in Europe. Most of the culture in Europe is based on a shared heritage of the Roman Empire.
