Vatican City Rome Italy

St. Peter's Square and the Crowd

One of the most special monarchies of the world is the Vatican City State.
It is an independent city state enclaved within Rome, Italy.

Each Christmas Day, at 12 o'clock,  the head of state: nowadays Pope Francis
will give his papal address and a blessing to the City of Rome and to the World.
This is in his Urbi et Orbi.

I had the chance to visit this lovely place in December 2017. It really has some
nice recognizable monuments.  It also has a wonderful history.

A view at Vatican City from the Castle

Amazing buildings in Vatican City

Some 'royal' history

'Vatican' was already mentioned during the time of the Roman Republic.
It was then a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber in the city of Rome.

Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there after Agrippina
the Elder gave the order to drain the area. Nero completed some building
works there, known as the Circus of Nero.

In 326 the Constantinian basilica was built over what was believed to be the
tomb of Saint Peter.

In 1870 the pope's holdings were left in an uncertain situation when Rome
was annexed by the Piedmont-led forces which had united the rest of Italy.
Between 1861 and 1929 the status of the Pope was insecure, it was called
the Roman Question.

St. Peter's Basilica and the Christmas tree

In 1871 the Quirinal Palace was confiscated by the king of Italy and it
became a royal Palace. But the Popes did not recognize the Italian King's
right to rule in Rome.

Only in 1929 this situation was solved. Pope Pius IX was then often
referred as the Prisoner in the Vatican.

On 11 February 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed between the
Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. It was signed by Benito Mussolini
and Cardinal Pietro Gasparri for Pope Pius XI. The treaty established
the independent state of Vatican Cty and reaffirmed the special status
of Catholicism in Italy.

During World War II, under the leadership of pope Pius XII, Vatican City
tried to remain neutral. German troops respected this situation.

on top of the Vatican Museums

Famous buildings

In Vatican City some famous buildings were erected. It is in this territory
that St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel and the
Vatican Museums were built.  It also includes the St. Peter's Square.

Vatican City has the most famous art in the world, with works from
Michelangelo, Bernini, Botticelli, Raphael and Fra Angelo.

In 1984 the Vatican was added by UNESCO  to the list of World Heritage
Sites. It is the only mention of an entire state on the list.

It really is a wonderful royal christmas destination.

The historical 'Google Maps' in the Vatican Museum

Vatican city has its own coat of arms, stamps and coins.
The last ones always are lovely souvenirs!

Vatican City Coat of Arms and the crowd