:: Accueil :: Occasions :: Contact :: Conditions :: Bouquets :: Autres bouquets :: Tous les pays d'Europe

The Vatican is an independent enclave in the city of Rome in Italy. It is an internationally recognized state, but not a UN member state where it has observer status. It has 824 inhabitants in an area of 0.44 square kilometers, making it the smallest state in the world. It was created February 11, 1929 as a temporal representation of the Holy See (all institutions of the Roman Catholic Church), under the Lateran Treaty signed by the latter, represented by Cardinal Gasparri and Italy, represented Mussolini. The official language is Italian, not Latin, which is the language of the Roman Catholic Church. However, Latin is the legal language of the state: the reference text of official publications is usually written in Latin, then translated into various other languages. The French is the language of diplomacy: Vatican must register as French State to international organizations. The "Papal army" (that is to say, the Swiss Guard) uses the German language.