Vatican City country guide — reviewed 25 October 2026 Official geography and people https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-and-government/general-informations/geography.html https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-and-government/general-informations/population.html The official area is 0.44 km² (44 hectares). The 882 residents figure is dated 31 December 2024 and includes citizens and non-citizens. Residents, citizens, commuters and visitors are different counts. History, institutions and international status https://www.vaticanstate.va/en/state-and-government/history.html https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/it/motu_proprio/documents/20260731-legge-fondamentale-scv.html https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/info/2026/07/31/260731b.html https://research.un.org/en/unmembers/observers https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/holy_see-saint-siege/about-a_propos.aspx?lang=eng The Fundamental Law of 31 July 2026 replaced the 2023 law. The Holy See, distinct from the territorial state, has held permanent UN observer status since 6 April 1964. The Governorate administers Vatican City State. Art, heritage, gardens and visitor access https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286/ https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina.html https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/patrimonio-naturale-archeologico/giardini/presentazione-giardini/giardini.html https://www.basilicasanpietro.va/en/san-pietro/the-basilica https://www.basilicasanpietro.va/en/help/the-basilica https://www.basilicasanpietro.va/en/faq/what-are-the-vatican-gardens-and-how-can-i-visit-them https://www.vaticanlibrary.va/ https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/organizza-visita/servizi-per-i-visitatori.html Check official access arrangements. The museum route, basilica, Library, offices and gardens have different access requirements. Pins are not entrances. Currency, food, environment and the Swiss Guard https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A02010A0204%2801%29-20240220 https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/cash-management/euro-coins/regular-coins/vatican-623844 https://www.italia.it/en/lazio/rome/things-to-do/traditional-roman-food-districts-of-rome https://www.vatican.va/content/romancuria/en/guardia-svizzera-pontificia/corpo-della-guardia-svizzera-pontificia/profilo.html https://www.patronsvaticanmuseums.org/restoration/projects/swiss-guard-uniform https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/2025-09/Holy%20See_NDC%202035_September%202025.pdf The modern ceremonial uniform was introduced under Jules Repond in 1914; the common Michelangelo attribution should not be taught as fact. Map reference and licence © OpenStreetMap contributors — Open Database Licence (ODbL 1.0) https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/36989 https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/lookup?osm_ids=R36989&format=geojson&polygon_geojson=1 Retrieved 25 October 2026. Public metadata: /data/vatican-boundary-metadata.json The reference outline is not a legal survey. Its approximately 0.49 km² mapped area differs from the official 0.44 km² statistic. No area claim is derived from the outline. The state and protected Holy See properties outside it are distinct. Eight authored representative landmark pins are not administrative divisions. Rebuild them with node scripts/build-vatican-map.mjs. Coordinates checked against Wikipedia article summaries and the official Vatican plan; institutions and collections use representative locations. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html Images Eleven Commons images are stored under /images/countries/vatican/. Each matching .source.json preserves the creator, source URL and licence. Visible credits link directly to the Commons file page, including its licence. Downloaded thumbnails retain their source licences; display crops vary by screen. The food image illustrates shared Roman cuisine, not a Vatican-specific dish. The people image is a historic photograph, not a current portrait of the Guard. Public-domain reproductions of historical art are identified in their metadata. Quiz review All eighty existing seed questions were read. Thirty-two prompt-keyed display corrections address ambiguous wording, undated numbers, state/Holy See confusion, institutional roles and erroneous claims. IDs and progress remain intact. Seed scripts and database rows are unchanged.