This is a (hopefully) mini series of mini posts about ministates, in somewhat like Wikipedia form.
Let's start with the most influential and best known ministate.
Name: Holy See State, Italian: Stato della Santa Sede, Latin: Status Sanctae Sedis
Capital: Vatican 41°54.2′N 12°27.2′E
Official languages: none de iure, Italian serves as a working language, Latin as an ecclesiastical language
Religion: Roman Catholicism
Government: Dependent territory. The Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction.
Independence: from the Kingdom of Italy: Lateran Treaty 11 February 1929
Area: total 114 ha
Population: about 4000
Head of State: ex officio Bishop of Rome
Holy See State is one of the smallest states in the world by both area and population. However, it is not a sovereign state, but is under sovereignty of the Holy See. It is the Holy See that, as an independent sovereign entity, maintains diplomatic relations with other states. The UN lists Holy See State among dependent territories. It is however unique in that it is not a dependent territory of another nation, but of an international organization.
Holy See State is distinct from the Holy See itself, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. The independent
city-state, on the other hand, came into existence in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of central Italy. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" over the city-state.
Holy See State is also unique in that its territory consists of 16 disconnected territories. The capital (i.e. the place where the highest state functionaries reside) is located at the Vatican, in the centre of Rome.
List of territories comprising the state:
In Rome:
- Vatican Hill
- Arcibasilica di San Giovanni
- Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
- palazzo del Laterano
- Palazzo San Callisto
- Pontifical Urbaniana University
- Pontifical North American College
- Bambino Gesù Hospital
- Palazzo della Cancelleria
- Palazzo di Propaganda Fide
- Palazzo dei Convertendi in Piazza Scossacavalli
- Palazzo della Dataria
- Palazzo Mattei Mascerotti
- Pontifical Minor Roman Seminary
- Campo Santo Teutonico
Outside of Rome:
- Palazzo Apostolico, situated in Castel Gandolfo - Pope's summer residence and vacation retreat
Santa Maria di Galeria, where the antennae of Vatican Radio are located does
not, despite often mistakenly believed, belong to the city state. It however enjoys
extraterritorial status, having been given to the Holy See in an agreement with
Italy in 1951.