With a population of around 800 and an area of just over 100 acres, Vatican City is the smallest recognized independent state in the world by both geographical size and population. All property here is church-owned. Italian is the official language, but the state wishes to have ties with people of all ethnicities and to represent a transnational, universal identity. It is, however, highly socially stratified, and obviously the Pope is the head honcho here. The Roman Curia is the administrative sector of the Catholic Church through which the Pontiff can preside over business.

It is a 100% urban location. Vatican City is built on a hill and field on the West Bank of the Tiber River. It was decreed as a state in the 1929 Lateran Treaty. The city shares Rome’s temperate, Mediterranean climate. Its economy is supported by sale of stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos, as well as by fees for admission to museums, publications sales, printing, the production of mosaics, and the manufacture of staff uniforms. The Vatican issues its own euro coins which supplanted the previous Vatican lire. St. Peter’s Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and the museums attract an approximate 17,000 visitors daily. The Sistine Chapel, within the palace where the Pope lives, has world-famous frescoes by Michelangelo.

The cuisine of the Vatican is that of Rome, which surrounds it. Pasta is a typical course in most meals. Does the Pope eat Italian? Apparently so. When John Paul II wanted his chef to make Polish food, it was a major scandal! Special holiday foods include lamb on Easter and a feast called the meal of the seven fishes on New Year’s Eve. This is in abidance with Italian ceremonial traditions. Travellers seem to find the self-service cafeteria at the Vatican Museum to have pedestrian and overpriced food, but generally consider the ristorante charming and worthwhile.