Vatican City/OER

Overview

Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. At approximately 44 hectares (110 acres) (0.44 km2), and with a population of around 900, it is the smallest country in the world by both area and population. (This does not include micronations) Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929 and is thus distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Vatican City is called by experts an "ecclesiastical" or "sacerdotal-monarchical" state, ruled by the bishop of Rome - the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all clergymen of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 became Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377. Vatican City is situated on the Vatican Hill in the west-central part of Rome, several hundred metres west of the Tiber river. Its borders (3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) in total, all within Italy) closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack. The Pope is ex officio head of state and head of government of Vatican City, functions dependent on his primordial function as bishop of the diocese of Rome. His official title with regard to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City. His principal subordinate government official for Vatican City is the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, who since 1952 exercises the functions previously belonging to the Governor of Vatican City. Vatican City State is a recognized national territory under international law.

Further information

For further general information see Wikipedia:Vatican City.

Education in Vatican City

For a general description of education in Vatican City/OER see Education:Vatican City.

e-learning

For a description more focussed to e-learning see Vatican City.

Internet in Vatican City

The Vatican also controls its own Internet domain, which is registered as (.va). Broadband service is widely provided within Vatican City. (1)

References

1. ReVica/VISCED page for Vatican City (http://virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Vatican_City)

Reports

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