Rione Assignment

The Vatican
Vatican City State has the singular characteristic of being an instrument of the independence of the Holy See, and of the Catholic Church, from any earthly power.
• The Vatican is in fact a city-state, not a rione.
“City-state”: A sovereign state consisting of an independent city and its surrounding territory.
• The Vatican is not the same as the Holy See.
• Government
Monarchy: Pope is Head of State.
Sede Vacante (time between two popes): College of Cardinals exercise powers.
Judicial authority lies with a Judge, a Tribunal, an Appeals Court and a Supreme Court.
Fundamental Laws of Vatican State
The Vatican ≠ The Holy See
• The Holy See is the authority, jurisdiction and sovereignty of the Pope and his advisors to direct the operations of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.
• The Holy See has legal powers which allow it to enter into treaties and judiciary powers equal to those of a state.
History
• The area was part of the Borgo rione until 1929.
• The Vatican is the only survivor of the Papal States that were in 17,000 square miles of land in 1859. This land was consolidated in 1870 during Italian unification. The new kingdom of Italy seized everything but the Vatican territory.
• Lateran Treaty of February 11th 1929: recognized full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established.

Territory
• Covers roughly 100 acres
• Surrounded partly by walls and stretches into St Peter’s Square. A strip of travertine stone that corresponds with the furthest end of the colonnade marks the boundary of the State.
• Vatican Gardens- cover 50 acres
• Vatican Palaces- Between the end of the 13th and the first decades of the 14th century the first Vatican palaces were built. The palaces include the Sistine Chapel (Sixtus IV (1471-1484)) and the present day papal apartments (Sixtus V (1585- 1590))

Train station
Most railway traffic consists of freight good importation, although the railway has occasionally carried passengers, usually for symbolic or ceremonial reasons

Vatican Bank- Istituto per le Opere di Religione (I.O.R.)
• Formed in 1942 in order to invest and increase the funds given to the Holy See for religious works and purposes.
• Accounts are exclusive; reserved for permanents residents, members of the Holy See, the Pope, and some clergymen and laymen who have regular business dealings with the Vatican.
• Located in Sixtus V’s medieval tower.
• Secretive financial institution.
Currency- Vatican coins say “Citta Del Vatticano” and have Benedict XVI’s head on them. They are decorated Euros, can be used in Italy as well. The Vatican doesn’t issue notes, only coins.
The economy is supported financially by an annual contribution (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world (79 million dollars in 2007 and 102 million dollars in 2006); by the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; by fees for admission to museums; and by the sale of publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable portion of revenue.
• The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.
Post office- stamps (85 cents for USA)
Vatican Gardens- cover about 50 acres. Cost to tour = 35 euros
The gardens contain vegetation from many countries worldwide including Brasil, China, Japan and Australia, which live in harmony with typical Italian plants and trees such as boxwood hedges, pines, cypresses, chestnuts and palms.
Flag and National Anthem


• Crossed keys represent keys to the kingdom that Christ gave Peter. The tiara represents the authority of the Holy See and the church
• Vatican City State has its own anthem (Pontifical March) like any other universally recognized, sovereign nation.
Automobile License Plates:

SCV = for vehicles belonging to the Vatican City State and Departments of the Holy See
CV = for vehicles that are the property of Vatican citizens and individuals who, in agreement with Italian authorities, are allowed to register their vehicles in Vatican City.
The international abbreviation is V.
Pope’s license plate = SCV 1, red letters, on all three of his cars.
Security
• Three bullet proof Mercedes, two of which are “pope mobiles” (SUVs).
• Italian government is responsible for the piazza.
• There are 5 entrances, each guarded by the Swiss Guard and the Gendarmes Corps of Vatican City State (Vatican police force).
• Teams of security guards employed by Vatican City oversee the various monuments within the Vatican (for examples, 18 security guards are in charge of controlling the crowds inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as maintaining some of the artifacts).
• The Swiss
Residents and Visitors
• Population = 824 people, of whom 450 have Vatican citizenship, while the rest have permission to reside there, either temporarily or permanently, without the benefit of citizenship.
• About half of the citizens live outside of Vatican City. Most of these people are diplomatic personnel and therefore live in different countries around the world.
• The Vatican citizenry consists almost entirely of two groups: clergy, most of whom work in the service of the Holy See, and a very few as officials of the state; and the Swiss Guard. Most of the 3,000 lay workers who comprise the majority of the Vatican workforce reside outside the Vatican and are citizens of Italy, while a few are citizens of other nations. Citizenship of Vatican City is granted iure officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is extended also to the spouse, parents and descendants of a citizen, provided they are living with the person who is a citizen.
“Extraterritorials”
- Vatican jurisdiction also covers some extraterritorial areas within and outside Rome.
- According to the Lateran Treaty, these buildings enjoy the same status, recognized by international law, as embassies and foreign diplomatic missions abroad.
- The areas occupied by these buildings are commonly known as “extraterritorial”.
Example- Vatican pharmacy located in the Piazza del Belvedere
Fun Facts
• Vatican radio- link Catholic Church with the rest of the world
- The Radio currently transmits on five channels via land, satellite and the internet. It broadcasts to all five continents in 39 languages for approximately 438 hours a week.
• The Vatican has the highest crime rate per capita in the world.
- There were 341 civil and 486 criminal cases in 2006.
- 90% of the crimes go un-punished.
- The Vatican does not have a jail, punishment is handled by the Italian government, but the Vatican pays them to do so.
• Country with highest rate of tourism
- In 2007 there were 4.3 million visitors, which is around 8,000 visitors per resident.

Personal Impressions and Reflections
There is nowhere I'd rather spend a bright sunny day. Sitting against a pillar in the piazza of St. Peter's, listening to Viva la Vida, periodically taking my eyes off the basilica to observe the activity in the piazza. After living in Rome for two months I have spent many hours on Vatican territory, either on the piazza, in the basilica, or inside the Vatican Museums. Last week I walked around the outside wall of the Vatican, all the way around. I'm not sure how long it took me to make my way back to the piazza where I started; it was a long walk, and I was lulled into a state of mindless relaxation for a large part of it. The backside of the Vatican is a quiet, peaceful residential area. The housing is fairly upscale; mostly gated apartment communities, and what looked like monasteries. The only graffiti on the wall itself are the Medici coats of arms that appear every 50-100 yards.
Most of the people inside of the Vatican each day are the thousands of tourists that come in and out of the various monuments and museums that occupy the space. The Vatican has an identity as the world's hub of Catholicism, but the culture within the walls is either nonexistent or just completely inaccessible. I spent about 30 minutes talking with one of the security guards inside of St. Peter's Basilica about the way that security worked inside the Vatican. He described to me the type of people who were authorized to pass through the five entrances to the Vatican each morning. Most of these people are laymen who park inside the walls each morning, work in one of the specified "pockets" of the Vatican, and leave at the end of the day. His description of the Vatican was a series of pocketed areas with high security. A person working in the basilica remains in the basilica, while a person working in the museum remains in the museum; there are numerous divisions within the Vatican walls.
I came to the realization through my conversation with the security guard that my impression of the Vatican is incredibly romanticized. Italy's fixation on the bella figura penetrates every corner of this city, the Vatican especially. While we were talking about the Swiss Guard he said to me, "I have friends in the Swiss Guard who go to the Campo de' Fiori on Friday nights. They're normal people, like you and me." I had this perception of the Swiss Guards as these very serious, traditional men who had to be celibate and devote more or less their entire existence to service. This "rione" is an international symbol of Catholicism and the hub of the Catholic community, but the physical space in itself is basically uninhabited. The Vatican's community lies outside its walls.
I never thought of the Vatican as a representation of Rome as a whole, but in many ways that’s what it is. Alexander Valentino told me that Rome was a city that lacked “meat”. It doesn’t have an established culture, and is inhabited mostly by people who come and go. I have found in my time here in Rome that the people are difficult to connect to for the most part; inaccessible. The Vatican, like Rome, maintains a specific bella figura that doesn’t necessarily correlate with the reality behind the façade.