Vatican City State

Cultural  

1. Tiny independent nation within Rome, Italy, located on the Vatican Hill, on the west bank of the Tiber River; often called the Vatican.

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The relations of the United States with the Vatican have been controversial. For years, the United States had a diplomatic representative there without the rank of ambassador, but in the middle 1980s, the United States established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

The Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica are located here.

With a total area of less than a fifth of a square mile, it is often considered the world's smallest country.

It is home to the pope and central administration of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope maintains complete legal, executive, and judicial powers. The Vatican was established in the 1920s by a treaty between the pope and the Italian government.

Example Sentences

“The repeated interventions by the current pope in this trial risk creating a dangerous precedent that could crack the substantial trust that the Vatican City State jurisdiction has enjoyed until now internationally,” Panella said.

From Washington Times • Nov. 22, 2023

Petrini's new position of secretary general of the Governorate of the Vatican City State is comparable to being deputy governor of a state or deputy mayor of a city.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2021

The criminal code of the Vatican City State is based on the 1889 Italian legal code as well as elements of the canon law of the universal Catholic Church.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 3, 2021

It said action was being taken "following the health emergency caused by the spread of Covid-19 which negatively affected all sources of income of the Holy See and the Vatican City State".

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2021

The siblings' father worked as a messenger for the Vatican, and the family lived in Vatican City State.

From Fox News • Jul. 11, 2019