For our rione we chose Vatican City while technically not one of the recognized Rione’s of Rome it is instead a small nation located with-in the city limits of Rome itself. My portion of this project will be discussing the Architecture and Monuments, Government (Political System, Military & Police, Administration and Foreign relations) and Demographics (population, Languages and Citizenship) of Vatican City.
St. Peter’s Basilica:
St. Peter’s is the largest Catholic Church in the modern world, construction of the Basilica started in 1506 under the direction and plan of the architect Bramante and finished in 1626 under the direction of Giacomo Della Porta who finished the church with the plans laid out by his predecessor Michelangelo. The original plan was to create a large dome that was supported on four piers, based on a Greek Cross floor plan with the dome design being inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Much was changed over the next century as new architects were appointed some of these architects were Raphael, Peruizzi and Sangallo. The modern day church was built on the design of Michelangelo in the late renaissance and early baroque, drawing inspiration for the Santa Maria Del Firoi in Florence mainly the renaissance design of the Latin Cross plan and the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 1400’s. The dome of the church is the third largest pre-modern dome in the world measuring 42 meters in diameter, the Nave and the façade of the basilica was designed by Carlo Maderno.
St. Peter’s Square:
The present day square that we see was constructed between 1656 and 1667 by Bernini, it consist of two flanking colonnades that wrap around and “hug” the square, two fountains and an Egyptian Obelisk. When Bernini started construction on the square it was already occupied by the Obelisk previously erected the late 16th century and a fountain made by Maderno on the northern side of the square. The colonnades were built in the simplest architectural order the Doric, this was so that the colonnade wouldn’t supersede the importance of the façade of the Basilica, it was designed 4 rows of columns deep and capped with a triangular pediment. The southern fountain was later built in honor on Bernini and as an exact replica of the northern fountain build in honor on Maderno. The obelisk that is at the center of the square is 41 meters tall including the base and the bronze capital, it was originally taken from Egypt in the early 1st century and was part of Nero’s forum, until erected in its current location in 1586.
Government:
The political system of Vatican City is Unique in that it is an Absolute Elective Monarchy, in which the head of the Catholic Church (The Pope) is the head of legislative, executive and judicial power over the State of the Vatican. The Swiss Guard have acted as the protectors of the city and the papacy for over 500 years; more recently there has been the Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano also known as the Gendarmeria. The Gendarmeria is responsible for public order, law enforcement, crowd control, traffic control and criminal investigations within the city. Vatican City is a recognized territory internationally and has diplomatic relations with almost all of the world’s countries excluding a few in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Demographics:
Vatican City is one of the smallest countries in the world; the total area that the city occupies is 0.17 square miles or about 110 acres. Currently there is more than 800 people living in Vatican City and 572 citizens, but of these 572 citizens only 220 are living in the city walls. Citizenship is based off of Jus Officii meaning it is granted to those who are working for the service of the Holy See. On 1 March 2011 Pope Benedict XVI enacted a new law replacing the 1929 residence and citizenship laws. Vatican citizenship now has four categories: The Pope, Cardinals residing in Vatican City, Active members of the Holy See’s diplomatic corps and other directors of Vatican offices and services. (1) The Vatican City has no official language, but the Holy See uses Latin for its official documents, and Vatican City uses Italian in their legislation and communications, and Italian is also the everyday language used by the majority of the people that work in the Vatican.
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