Vatican City"The Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical[12] state (a type of theocracy) ruled by the pope who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Since the return of the popes from Avignon in 1377, they have generally resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere. The Holy See dates back to early Christianity, and is the primate episcopal see of the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion Catholic Christians around the world distributed in the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The independent Vatican City-state, on the other hand, came into existence on 11 February 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation,[13] not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of central Italy." - (en.wikipedia.org 01.02.2020) Southern Europe Cortile del Belvedere Vatican Hill St. Peter's Square Casina Pio IV Gardens of Vatican City Santa Marta in Vaticano Sistine Chapel St. Peter's Basilica Vatican Grotto Vatican Museums