Vatican City

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Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae) is a city-state in Europe. Most of the state lying in Italy's capital Rome it covers only 0.44 km². The main area lies around the St. Peter's Basilica, while some other churches and palaces in Rome as well as the pope's summer residence Castel Gandolfo also belong to its territory. The head of Vatican City is the pope who is elected by the assembly of cardinals. The current imcumbent is pope Benedict XVI., who was elected in 2005.

While, according to 2003 figures, 253 people live in Vatican City, 552 have the Vatican citizenship (61 cardinals, 346 priests, 101 Swiss Guards and 44 laymen). The official languages spoken in Vatican City are Latin and Italian. The official religion is Catholicism. Until 2002 Vatican City had its own currency, the Vatican Lira. The Vatican Lira was on par with the Italian Lira. Together with Italy, Vatican City replaced its Lira by the Euro in 2002.

References

  • Der Fischer Weltalmanach 2006, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 2005.
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