Vatican City in Rome, Italy

Vatican City is a city within a city. It is very simple because it is located in Rome, the capital city of Italy. It is called as Stato della Città del Vaticano in Italian language or simply "State of the City of the Vatican". According to wikipedia, "Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome—the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various national origins. 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."

Sad to say, we don't have the chance to see Pope Benedict VI during our visit last August 11-14, 2010...wink! Here is an image I took as we where on top of the cupola in St. Peter's Cathedral. You can also see the Saint Peter's Square very clear in this image. I would love to visit Rome again next time.


Vatican City, one of the European microstates, 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 miles in total, all within Italy) closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack. The situation is more complex at the famous Saint Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, where the correct border is just outside the ellipse formed by Bernini's colonnade, but where police jurisdiction has been entrusted to Italy.

The Vatican climate is the same as Rome's; a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to August. There are some local features, principally mists and dews, caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square. more here