Vatican City

A calque of Italian Città del Vaticano, from Latin Cīvitās Vāticāna (“Vatican City”), referring to the Vatican hill, whose further etymology is unknown.

• (UK, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvæ.tɪ.kən ˈsɪt.i/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (UK):

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• Rhymes: -ɪti

Vatican City or the Vatican City

2. A city-state in Southern Europe, an enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. Official name: Vatican City State.

   Synonym: Vatican

   • 1929 February 12, Arnaldo Cortesi, “Pope’s Sovereignty Is Restored by Italo-Vatican Compact”, in The New York Times‎^[1], volume LXXVIII, number 25,952, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 August 2025, page 2, column 2:

     “The new State, which will be known as the Vatican City, has a tiny territory,” the Pope [Pius XI] said, “but it is the greatest in the world because it contains Bernig’s^[sic] colonnades, Michelangelo’s dome, treasures of art in the Vatican library, museums and galleries, and because, above all, it contains the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. No more precious territory exists.”

   • 2019 October 3, Ellen Curtin, “Everything You Wanted to Know about Vatican City”, in City Wonders‎^[2], archived from the original on 13 June 2025:

     Unlike most other countries in the world, citizenship in Vatican City isn’t solely provided to people that are born in the country. As there are no hospitals in the Vatican State, virtually no one is born in there. Instead, Vatican citizenship is provided on a ‘jus officii’ basis.

   • 2024 May 6, Dana Rubinstein, William K. Rashbaum, “Mayor [Eric] Adams to Meet With Pope Francis in Rome”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 May 2024:

     The advisory mentions “travel to the Vatican City,” but did not specify if he would meet with the pope.

• Vaticanian (a person from Vatican City)

• Papal States
• Countries of the world