The geography of

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

is unique due to the country's position as an urban, landlocked

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Rome, Italy. With an area of 49 ha (121 acres, or 0.19 sq mi), and a border with Italy of 3.5km, it is the world's smallest independent state. Outside the Vatican City, thirteen buildings in Rome and

Castel Gandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Ga ...

(the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights (one building, the Paul VI Audience Hall, straddles the border, but its Italian portion has extraterritorial rights). The country contains no major natural resources, and no known natural hazards other than those that affect Rome in general, such as earthquakes.

Climate

The city state has the same climate as Rome: temperate, mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September).

Terrain

Vatican City sits on a low hill. The hill has been called the

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The anc ...

(in Latin, ''Mons Vaticanus'') since long before Christianity existed. An

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

settlement, possibly called ''Vatica'' or ''Vaticum'', may have existed in the area generally known by the ancient Romans as "Vatican territory" ''(vaticanus ager''), but if so no archaeological trace of it has been discovered.

Extreme points

This is a list of the extreme points of

: the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location, as well as the highest and lowest points. * North: at the intersection of the ''Viale Vaticano'' and the ''Via Leone IV'' () * South: at the intersection of the ''Via della Stazione Vaticana'' and the ''Via di Porta Cavalleggeri'' () * West: at the intersection of the ''Viale Vaticano'' and the ''Via Aurelia'' () * East: easternmost edge of

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

() The lowest point in Vatican City is an unnamed location at . The highest point is another unnamed location at . The tallest building is St. Peter's Basilica, at 138 metres (453 ft).

Land use

The nature of the estate is fundamentally urban and none of the land is reserved for significant agriculture or other exploitation of natural resources. The city state displays an impressive degree of land economy, born of necessity due to its extremely limited territory. Thus, the urban development (i.e., buildings) is optimized to occupy about half of the total area, while the rest is reserved for open space, including the Vatican Gardens. The territory holds many diverse structures that help provide autonomy for the sovereign state, including a rail line and train station, heliport, post office, radio station (with extraterritorial antennas in Italy), military barracks, government palaces and offices, public plaza, part of an audience hall, old defensive wall marking the border, institutions of higher learning, and cultural/art centers.

Environment

In July 2007, the Vatican accepted an offer that would make it the only carbon neutral state for the year, due to the donation of the Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary. The forest was to be sized to offset the year's carbon dioxide emissions. No trees have been planted under the project and the carbon offsets have not materialized.

International agreements

*''Party to:'' Ozone Layer Protection *''Signed, but not ratified:'' Air Pollution, Environmental Modification

References

* ;Notes

External links

Interactive Vatican City Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Vatican City