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Vatican City State
Vatican City State
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, in the Vatican City State. The square is enclosed by Gianlorenzo Bernini\'s 17th-century elliptical colonnade. St Peter\'s Basilica, the cathedral itself, is the main Roman Catholic church in this clerical state, and took more than a century to build.', copy:'(Image © Garret Nagle)'});)
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Sovereign area within the city of Rome, Italy.
Government
The pope, elected for life by the Sacred College of Cardinals, is absolute head of state. He appoints a pontifical commission to administer the state's affairs on his behalf and under his direction. The pope is Benedict XVI, from 2005.
History
The pope has traditionally been based in Rome, where the Vatican has been a papal residence since 1377; the Vatican Palace is one of the largest in the world and contains a valuable collection of works of art.
The Vatican City State came into being through the Lateran Treaty of 1929, under which Italy recognized the sovereignty of the pope over the city of the Vatican. The 1947 Italian constitution reaffirmed the Lateran Treaty, and under its terms, Roman Catholicism became the state religion in Italy, enjoying special privileges. This remained so until, under a new 1984 Concordat (ratified in 1985), Catholicism ceased to be the state religion.
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