User:JohnWinn/AgeVaticanCity

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The State of the Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vatican&aelig; ), is a landlocked enclave surrounded by the city of Rome in Italy, and the smallest independent state in the world (both in area and in population). The Vatican is the home of the Pope, and forms the territory of the Holy See, the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican City includes the Vatican Hill (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Mons Vaticanus), whose name <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">predates Christianity, <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">and the Vatican <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">Fields north of the hill, upon which St. Peter's Basilica, <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">the Sistine Chapel, <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">and the Vatican <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">Museums are <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">built.

History
Main article History of the Vatican City

It is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome (the <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">ager vaticanus ) had always been considered sacred, even before the arrival of Christianity. In 326 the first church was built on the supposed site of the tomb of Saint Peter, and from then on the area started to become more populated.

Popes in their secular role gradually extended their control over neighbouring regions and through the Papal States ruled a large portion of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when most of the territory of the Papal States was seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy.

In 1870, the Pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved on February 11, 1929 by three Lateran treaties, which established the independent state of the Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">provisions of the earlier treaty, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion.

Politics
Main article Politics of the Vatican City

The Vatican is technically a rare case of a non-hereditary elective monarchy; the monarch, the Pope, being elected for life by those Cardinals under the age of 80 during a Conclave (held in the Sistine Chapel). The <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Pope exercises supreme legislative, executive, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">judicial power over <font style="background-color:#ff8080">the Holy See and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">the State of the Vatican <font style="background-color:#ff8080">City.

The term "Holy See" refers to the composite of the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. As the "central government" of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See has a legal personality that allows it to enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state. The Pope delegates the internal administration of the Vatican City to the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican City. The legal system is based on canon, or ecclesiastical, law; if canon law is not applicable the laws of the city of Rome apply.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Pope appoints various members of the Roman Curia <font style="background-color:#ff8080">to assist in governance of Vatican City. Executive authority is vested in the Governor of Vatican City. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Cardinal Secretary of State <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is responsible for the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">foreign relations of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Holy See, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">therefore the Vatican. The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">legislature of Vatican <font style="background-color:#ff8080">City, with members appointed by the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">pope to <font style="background-color:#ff8080">5 year terms. During a sede vacante (papal <font style="background-color:#ff8080">vacancy), the Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">former Secretary of State, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">former President of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Pontifical Commission form one commission who <font style="background-color:#ff8080">perform some of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">functions of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">head of state; while another made up of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Chamberlain and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">three cardinals, one chosen by lot every three days from each order of cardinals, performing other functions of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">head of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">state. All decisions of these <font style="background-color:#ff8080">commissions must be <font style="background-color:#ff8080">approved <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">by <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">the College of Cardinals.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Created in 1929 to <font style="background-color:#ff8080">provide a territorial identity for the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Holy See in Rome, the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">State of the Vatican City is <font style="background-color:#ff8080">a recognized national territory under international law. The Holy See, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">however, enters into international agreements and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">receives and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">sends diplomatic representatives. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Foreign embassies are located in the Italian part of Rome due to the very limited territory of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">state; Italy <font style="background-color:#ff8080">actually hosts its own Embassy of Italy. <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">The Holy See is a permanent observer in the United Nations, and <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">in July, 2004, gained all the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">rights of <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">full membership except voting. According to Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">Permanent Observer, "We have no vote because this is our choice." He added that the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">Vatican considers that its current status "is a fundamental step that does not close any path for the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">future. The Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">has <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">requirements defined <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">by <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">the UN statute to be <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">a <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">member state and, <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">if <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">in the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">future it wished to be <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">so, this resolution would not impede it from requesting it."

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Administration <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Vatican City
<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">The Pope <font style="background-color:#ff8080">delegates <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">internal administration <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Vatican City <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">to <font style="background-color:#ff8080">the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican City. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Vatican City maintains the Swiss Guards, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">a voluntary military force, as well as <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">a <font style="background-color:#ff8080">modern security corps. It has its own post office, commissary, bank, railway station, electrical generating plant, and publishing house. <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">The Vatican <font style="background-color:#ff8080">also issues its own coins, stamps and internet domain ( .va). Radio Vatican, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">official radio station, is one <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">most influential in <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Europe. L'Osservatore Romano <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">semi-official newspaper, published daily in Italian, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">weekly <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">in <font style="background-color:#ff8080">English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">French (plus <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">a <font style="background-color:#ff8080">monthly edition in Polish). It is published by <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Catholic laymen but <font style="background-color:#ff8080">carries official information.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Administration <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Holy See
<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">Pope <font style="background-color:#ff8080">rules the Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff8080">through the Roman Curia and the Papal Civil Service. <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">The <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Roman Curia consists <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the Secretariat of State, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">nine Congregation<font style="background-color:#ff6060">s, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">three Tribunal<font style="background-color:#ff6060">s, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">11 Pontifical Council<font style="background-color:#ff6060">s, and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">a complex of offices <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">that <font style="background-color:#ff8080">administer church <font style="background-color:#ff8080">affairs at <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">highest level. The Secretariat <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">State, under <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Cardinal Secretary of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">State, directs and coordinates the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Curia. The current incumbent, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is the Holy See'<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">s <font style="background-color:#ff8080">equivalent <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of a <font style="background-color:#ff8080">prime minister. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Secretary of <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the Section for Relations With States <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Secretariat of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">State is the <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">Vatican' s <font style="background-color:#ff8080">foreign minister. <font style="background-color:#ff6060">Sodano and <font style="background-color:#ff6060">Lajolo served in <font style="background-color:#ff6060">their respective roles under Pope John Paul II and <font style="background-color:#ff6060">were then reappointed <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">to <font style="background-color:#ff6060">those same roles by Pope Benedict XVI.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Among <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">most active <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">major Curial institutions are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">which oversees church <font style="background-color:#ff8080">doctrine; the Congregation for Bishops, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">which <font style="background-color:#ff8080">coordinates the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">appointment of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">bishops worldwide; the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">which <font style="background-color:#ff8080">oversees all missionary activities; and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">which <font style="background-color:#ff8080">deals with international peace and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">social issues.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Three tribunals are responsible for judicial power. <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">The Apostolic Penitentiary <font style="background-color:#ff8080">deals with matters <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">conscience; the Sacra Rota <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is responsible for appeals, including annulments <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">marriage; and the Apostolic Signatura <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is the final court <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">appeal.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Prefecture for Economic Affairs <font style="background-color:#ff8080">coordinates <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">finances <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Holy See departments and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">supervises the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">administration <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Patrimony of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Holy See, an investment fund dating back <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">to the Lateran Pacts. A <font style="background-color:#ff8080">committee of 15 cardinals, chaired by the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">Secretary of State, has final oversight authority over <font style="background-color:#ff8080">all financial <font style="background-color:#ff8080">matters <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the Holy See, including <font style="background-color:#ff8080">those <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the Institute for Works of Religion, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the Vatican <font style="background-color:#ff8080">bank.

Geography
Main article Geography of the Vatican City

The Vatican City is situated on the Vatican Hill in the <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">north- <font style="background-color:#ff8080">western part of Rome, several hundred metres west of the Tiber river, <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">on <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">latter's right bank. Its borders (3.<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">2km in total, all with Italy) closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack. The situation is more complex at the famous St. Peter's Square in front of the St. Peter's Basilica, where the correct border is the middle of the round area surrounded by Bernini's columns. It is the smallest sovereign state in the world <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">at <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">0.44 <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">km&sup2; ( 108.7 acres). <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">According to the <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">Lateran Treaties certain properties <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the Holy See, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">although not being part of <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">the territory <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">of the City State, enjoy the privilege of extraterritoriality (<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">e.g. Major Basilicas, Curial and diocesan offices, Castel Gandolfo). The Pope is the Head of State, though he governs through the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City.

Its climate is naturally the same as Rome's; a temperate, <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to September.

Economy
Main article Economy of the Vatican City

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Budget: Revenues (2003) $252 million; expenditures (2003) $264 million. Industries: printing and production of few mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">financial activities. This unique, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">non-commercial economy is <font style="background-color:#ff8080">also supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.

Demographics
Main article Demographics of the Vatican City

Almost all of Vatican City's <font style="background-color:#ff8080">921 citizens live inside the Vatican's walls. The Vatican citizenry consists mostly of clergy, including high dignitaries, priests, nuns, as well as the famous Swiss Guard, a <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">volunteer military force. There are also about 3,000 lay workers who comprise the majority of the Vatican work force, but who reside outside the Vatican.

The official language is Latin, the otherwise extinct language that originated in Rome and has remained in use in the Roman Catholic Church. Italian and, to a lesser extent, other languages are generally used for most conversations, publications, and broadcasts. Swiss German is the <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">official language of <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">the Swiss Guard.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Foreign relations
<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff8080">conducts an <font style="background-color:#ff8080">active diplomacy through the Secretariat of State, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">It maintains formal diplomatic relations with 174 nations, 68 of <font style="background-color:#ff8080">these maintain permanent resident diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See in Rome. The rest have missions located in Italy <font style="background-color:#ff8080">with dual accreditation. The Holy See maintains 106 permanent diplomatic missions to nation-states. Furthermore, The Holy See has two separate permanent diplomatic missions: one <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">to the European Union, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">another to the Russian Federation.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Holy See is especially active in international organizations. The Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff8080">has diplomatic relations <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">with the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">European Union (EU) in Brussels, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">it is a <font style="background-color:#ff8080">permanent observer of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">United Nations Organization (UN), Organization of American States (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">OAS) in Washington, Organization of African Unity (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">OAU), World Tourist Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WToO), World Trade Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WTO), World Health Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WHO), World Food Programme (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WFP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNESCO), United Nations Environment Programme (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNEP), United Nations International Drug Control Programme (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNDCP), United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNCHS), Latin Union (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">LU), International Organization for Migration (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">IOM), International Labour Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ILO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">IFAD), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">FAO).

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Holy See is also an observer on an informal basis of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WMO), United Nations Committee of Peaceful Use of Outer Space (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNCOPUOS), International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ISDR), International Maritime Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">IMO), African Asian Legal Consultative Committee (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">AALCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ICAO).

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Holy See is a <font style="background-color:#ff8080">member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">OPCW), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">OSCE), International Telecommunication Union (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ITU), International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ITSO), World Intellectual Property Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">WIPO), Universal Postal Union (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UPU), International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNIDROIT), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNHCR), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">UNCTAD), International Grains Council (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">IGC), International Committee of Military Medicine (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">ICMM), International Atomic Energy Agency (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">IAEA), and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">CTBTO). [Source: 2002 Holy See official website]

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">In 1971, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">the Holy See announced the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">decision to adhere to the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in <font style="background-color:#ff8080">order to "give its moral support to the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">principles that <font style="background-color:#ff8080">form the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">base of the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">treaty itself." The Holy See <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is also a participating state in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: <font style="background-color:#ff8080">it is <font style="background-color:#ff8080">a guest of honour to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Furthermore, the Holy See has a delegate to the Arab League in Cairo (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">AL).

Culture
Main article Culture of the Vatican City

The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica or the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most beautiful art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The permanent population of the Vatican City <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is <font style="background-color:#ff6060">predominately <font style="background-color:#ff8080">male, <font style="background-color:#ff6060">although two orders of nuns live <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">in the <font style="background-color:#ffdfdf">Vatican. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">A minority are <font style="background-color:#ff8080">senior Catholic clergy; the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">remainder are <font style="background-color:#ff8080">members of religious order<font style="background-color:#ff8080">s. Many workers in the Vatican City <font style="background-color:#ff8080">live outside its walls, including the Swiss Guard <font style="background-color:#ff8080">and embassy personnel.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Men, and especially women, must adhere to strict dress codes.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">Tourism is an important factor in the <font style="background-color:#ff8080">daily life of the Vatican. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Pope leads weekly mass <font style="background-color:#ff8080">and other services, and appears on religious holiday<font style="background-color:#ff8080">s such as Easter.

<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">Transportation and <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">communications
<font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">The Vatican City has <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">no airports. There is one heliport <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">and a <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">862 m standard gauge (<font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">1435 mm) railway that <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station.

<font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">A newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">publishes <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">daily in Italian, <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">weekly in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">and <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">monthly in Polish.

<font style="background-color:#ff8080">The City <font style="background-color:#ff8080">is served by an <font style="background-color:#ff8080">independent, modern post office and <font style="background-color:#ff8080">telephone <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">system. <font style="background-color:#ff8080">The Vatican (<font style="background-color:#ff8080">which has <font style="background-color:#ff8080">its own country code, .<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">va ) has an <font style="background-color:#ff8080">official website, <font style="background-color:#ff8080">radio station, and satellite TV channels.

<font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">Miscellaneous topics

 * Military of the Vatican City
 * Foreign relations of the Vatican City
 * Prisoner in the Vatican

External <font style="background-color:#ffbfbf">links

 * The Vatican official website -
 * Some photos - <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">Text is in <font style="background-color:#ff9f9f">Italian
 * Map of Vatican City

Countries and territories of Europe Albania | Andorra | Armenia2 | Austria | Azerbaijan1 | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus2 | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Georgia1 | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Kazakhstan1 | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | R. Macedonia | Malta | Moldova | Monaco | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia1 | San Marino | Serbia and Montenegro | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey1 | Ukraine | United Kingdom | Vatican City Other territories: Akrotiri and Dhekelia2 | Faroe Islands | Gibraltar | Guernsey | Jan Mayen | Jersey | Isle of Man | Svalbard Unrecognised countries: Abkhazia | Nagorno-Karabakh2 | South Ossetia | Transnistria | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus2 <p style="font-size:85%;">Geographical notes: (1) Partly in Asia; (2) Entirely in Asia but having sociopolitical connections with Europe.

Category:European microstates Category:European countries Category:Holy cities Category:Monarchies Category:Roman Catholic Church Category:Special territories 

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