The Vatican City
- The Vatican City is located near the Tiber river On a hill (Stevens).
- Before the Vatican City was established, St. Peters Basilica was built on the hill that soon made up The country.
- The vatican city is the worlds smallest country. You can easily walk its borders in under 45 minutes
- There is not a single female citizen of the vatican city.
- The citizens of the vatican city are appointed residency by the pope and consist of those who work for the Catholic church
A map view of the Vatican City
Government:The type of government established in The Vatican is an absolute Monarchy. While there is a congress, made up of members called 'Cardinals', any decision made can be over-ruled by the king. It is a very unusual government being such a minuscule country. The video to the right does a good job at explaining the way things are set up.(GCP Grey)
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Below is a video of a ground tour of the Vatican.
The catacombs
The catacombs are an extensive system of underground burial tunnels found under the streets of Rome.
The first catacombs were used as jewish cemeteries (Sood). Catacombs were popular among religious burial sites because they could be made so that those who are buried in the tunnel are buried close to saints. (Valsecchi ).
Today, some catacombs are open to the public, while some remain closed off and it is likely that catacombs exist that have yet to be discovered.
A popular legend surrounding the Roman catacombs is the legend of the holy grail. According to the legend Pope Sixtus gave the Holy grail to a man named Lawrence who put hid it and was soon murdered. Some claim that he hid it in the Catacombs of St.Lawrence however the Vatican government denies access to the tunnel and will continue to until solid evidence is found that the grail is in the tunnel ( Valsecchi).
A newly discovered catacomb under the streets of The vatican city is possibly the earliest catacomb dug out carbon-dating to 100 a.d. to 300 a.d. and it has suggested that it was reserved for very wealthy families including their slaves. Below is a documentary on this catacomb named catacomb x ( TOPdocumentary UpToDate).
Today, some catacombs are open to the public, while some remain closed off and it is likely that catacombs exist that have yet to be discovered.
A popular legend surrounding the Roman catacombs is the legend of the holy grail. According to the legend Pope Sixtus gave the Holy grail to a man named Lawrence who put hid it and was soon murdered. Some claim that he hid it in the Catacombs of St.Lawrence however the Vatican government denies access to the tunnel and will continue to until solid evidence is found that the grail is in the tunnel ( Valsecchi).
A newly discovered catacomb under the streets of The vatican city is possibly the earliest catacomb dug out carbon-dating to 100 a.d. to 300 a.d. and it has suggested that it was reserved for very wealthy families including their slaves. Below is a documentary on this catacomb named catacomb x ( TOPdocumentary UpToDate).
Works Cited:
Valsecchi, M.C.,National Geographic. (2012). Innovation and Tech. What's Inside Rome's Ancient Catacombs? Retrieved from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/rome-catacombs/
Sood, S., BCC. (2012). Adventure. Exploring the History of the Catacombs. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121025-exploring-the-history-of-catacombs
[GCP Grey]. (2013, April 9). Vatican City Explained. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHRIjI3hXs
[TOPdocumentary UpToDate]. (2012, October 29). PBS NOVA & Roman Catacomb Mystery & Full Documentary. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqc6erGHe1U
Stevens, R. [Rick Steves Europe]. (2009, October 2). Little Europe: The Vatican City. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Aqx937YV0
By Diliff (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Alberto Pisa (1864-1936). (A Procession in the Catacomb of Callistus.) (Malleson, Hope & Tuker, M.A.R.: “Rome” (1905) [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Valsecchi, M.C.,National Geographic. (2012). Innovation and Tech. What's Inside Rome's Ancient Catacombs? Retrieved from http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/rome-catacombs/
Sood, S., BCC. (2012). Adventure. Exploring the History of the Catacombs. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121025-exploring-the-history-of-catacombs
[GCP Grey]. (2013, April 9). Vatican City Explained. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPHRIjI3hXs
[TOPdocumentary UpToDate]. (2012, October 29). PBS NOVA & Roman Catacomb Mystery & Full Documentary. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqc6erGHe1U
Stevens, R. [Rick Steves Europe]. (2009, October 2). Little Europe: The Vatican City. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Aqx937YV0
By Diliff (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Alberto Pisa (1864-1936). (A Procession in the Catacomb of Callistus.) (Malleson, Hope & Tuker, M.A.R.: “Rome” (1905) [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons