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Mar 13, 2023 · A more correct term is city-state. The entire city of Vatican City encompasses the state itself, so it’s a state made up of one large city. Vatican City is not a democracy and is not a member of the United Nations. It is not a member of the EU although the official currency is the Euro.
- Vatican Hill in Ancient Rome
- Old St Peter’s Basilica
- The Vatican During The Middle Ages
- The Vatican During The Renaissance
- How The Vatican Gained Its Independence as A Sovereign City-State
What does Vatican mean?
From the founding of Rome (around 800 BCE) through to the end of the Roman Republic (around 44 BCE), the hill on the west bank of the Tiber River was known as Ager Vaticanus. During the Roman empire, the Romans referred to this area as Vaticanum, and this was where the rich and powerful built their villas and gardens. The emperor Caligula(third emperor of Rome, 37 – 41 CE) built a large circus there.
The Martyrdom of Saint Peter
In 64 CE there was a huge fire in Rome that destroyed more than 2/3 of the city. According to the historian Tacitus, Nero started the fire himself, so he could rebuild Rome in his image and construct his massive Golden House(Domus Aurea.) He then decided to persecute Christians as scapegoats. One of the people he is said to have had murdered is Saint Peter. Christian tradition holds that Saint Peter was crucified in Nero’s Circus, which was more or less where the Vaticanis today. Disclosure:...
Where is St Peter buried?
In Ancient Rome, it was illegal to bury anyone inside the city. This is why you find the catacombs outside what was once the city of Rome. The Vaticanum was outside the city, so people were buried there in what became known as the Vatican Necropolis. One of those buried here is said to be Saint Peter.
Emperor Constantine(306 – 337 CE) was the first Roman emperor to sanction Christianity as an official religion of the empire, and (supposedly) the first to convert to Christianity. He declared a church should be built on top of the resting place of the Apostle Peter. Construction of Constantine’s new basilica began around 319 – 322 CE, and took abo...
Once Constantine built his basilica, and pilgrims began coming to Rome, people started donating goods and lands to the Church, making it one of the largest landholders in Europe. This gave the Church and the papacy more and more legitimacy. The famed “Donation of Constantine”, which gave the Pope sovereignty over both the Eastern and Western empire...
In 1309 the Papal court moved to Avignon, France due to a disagreement that arose after French king Philip IV went behind everyone’s backs and elected a French pope, Clement V, in 1305. Pope Gregory XI moved the court back to Rome in 1376, but the long years of abandonment had taken a toll on Rome. Large parts of the city were in ruin and St. Peter...
The Papal States
The Papal States were territories under the direct jurisdiction of the pope until 1870, when a unified Italy claimed all land outside Vatican Walls. At their peak, the Papal States had over 3 million citizens and included the regions we know today as Lazio, parts of Umbria, le Marche, and Emilia Romagna.
Unification of Italy
In 1850, King Victor Emmanuel II (who commissioned the huge Vittoriano monument) began to consolidate all of Italy under one government. He would become the first king of a unified Italy. The largest state, and the last holdout to joining a unified Italy, was the Papal States. The king began annexing pieces of the Papal States, bit by bit, until all that was left was Rome. The domain of the Holy See had shrunk to the area inside the Vatican Walls. On September 20, 1870, the king’s army forcib...
The Lateran Pact
In 1927, prime minister Benito Mussolinientered into new negotiations with Pope Pius XI. By this time, it had become apparent that most Italians wanted peace between the two. Also, most Italians were Roman Catholic, so it made sense to find a way to rule in harmony. On February 11 1929, Italy and the Vatican signed the Lateran pact. The Holy See acknowledged the legitimacy of the Italian government and its right to the Papal States.
Answer: It is not Rome that “inherited” the primacy of St. Peter, it is St. Peter’s successor who inherits the primacy. St. Peter died in Rome, and that is where he was succeeded by Pope St. Linus.
Jan 20, 2024 · The Vatican aka Vatican City is the country where the Pope and the highest administration of the Roman Catholic Church (called ‘Holy See’) is located. Official name: State of Vatican City
Vatican City, in full State of the Vatican City , Independent papal state, southern Europe, within the commune of Rome, Italy.
While his office is called the papacy, the jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. [7] It is the Holy See that is the sovereign entity by international law headquartered in the distinctively independent Vatican City State, a city-state which forms a geographical enclave within the conurbation of Rome, established by the Lateran Treaty in 1929 between Italy and the Holy See to ...
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Why did Italy recognize Vatican City?
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Why is Rome the capital of the Catholic Church?
Aug 29, 2023 · Why is it so important? Well, the Vatican is the central hub for the Roman Catholic Church, and it’s the Pope’s home. The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and for Catholics, he’s Christ’s representative on Earth. This all sounds pretty lofty, and it is! But to understand why the Vatican matters, we need to look back at its history and what it stands for today.
