FRANCE 24 English published this video item, entitled “Vatican’s state finances dry up as Covid-19 lockdowns empty streets of tourists” – below is their description.
While Europe is facing growing Covid-19 infection cases and more lockdown measures, the coronavirus pandemic has also caused a drop in tourist numbers in many countries, including the World’s smallest state: the Vatican. The usual masses of tourists are an important source of revenue and the Pope’s financial authorities are worried the state’s finances are edging further into deficit, as FRANCE 24’s correspondents Natalia Mendoza, Bernard Edarida and Charlotte Davan Wetton report.
FRANCE 24 English YouTube Channel
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In This Story: Vatican
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, is the Holy See’s independent city state, an enclave within Rome, Italy. The Vatican City State, also known as The Vatican, became independent from Italy with the Lateran Treaty (1929), and it is a distinct territory under “full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction” of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity of international law, which maintains the city state’s temporal, diplomatic, and spiritual independence. With an area of 49 hectares (121 acres) and a population of about 825, it is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population.
As governed by the Holy See, the Vatican City State is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state (a type of theocracy) ruled by the pope who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. After the Avignon Papacy (1309–1437), the popes have mainly resided at the Apostolic Palace within what is now Vatican City, although at times residing instead in the Quirinal Palace in Rome or elsewhere.
Within the Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by donations from the faithful, by the sale of postage stamps and souvenirs, fees for admission to museums, and sales of publications.
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