Stock photography picture of Spiral staircase in the Vatican

A836T3 - Royalty Free Caption Spiral staircase in the Vatican Description Vatican City formally State of the Vatican City, or Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano, Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae) — is a tiny sovereign state whose territory consists of a landlocked enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. The entire state is about 44 Hectares (108.7 acres) and thus is a European microstate. It is the smallest independent nation in the world. Since it is governed by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), its government can be described as ecclesiastical and the highest state functionaries are in fact clergymen. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Latin:Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Apostolic Palace—the Pope's official residence—and the Roman Curia. Thus, although the principal ecclesiastical seat of the Holy See (Basilica of St. John Lateran) is located in Rome itself, the Vatican City can be said to be the governmental capital of the Catholic Church of both East and West. Keywords Picture, painting, romantic, rennaissance, renaissance, rennaisance, Tourists, wonder, stair, stairs, stare, stares, staircase, spiral, wander, look, classic, classical, Jesus, flag, beautiful, handsome, Vatican, catholic, christian, learning, learn, Rome, Italy, tourism, tourist, attraction, tourist, attractions, travel, traveling, travelling, travels, UNESCO, UNESCO, World, Heritage, vacation, vacations, World, Heritage, site, portrait, verticle