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Holy See (Vatican City)

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The boundaries of the Holy See (Vatican City) were formally defined by the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, which gave this independent state sovereignty over 44 ha (108 acres) in the center of Rome. Vatican City is the smallest state in the world both by area and by population and is the second-least populated capital in the world. The Vatican is a holy city for Catholics as well as an important Roman archaeological site and a cultural reference point for people all over the world.
Looking past the obelisk that stands at the center of St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, out to the city of Rome, Italy.
The façade of St. Peter's Basilica as viewed from one of the two matching Bernini fountains that grace St. Peter's Square (Piazza) in front of the church. The upper story displays statues of Christ, his apostles, and St. John the Baptist. Constructed over a period of 80 years and consecrated in 1626, the basilica is the largest Christian church in the world, capable of holding some 60,000 people.
An Egyptian obelisk in Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City. Composed of red granite, the obelisk is 25.5 m (84 ft) tall, or 41 m (134.5 ft) to the top of the cross. The Emperor Caligula transferred it to Rome in A.D. 37, and it was moved to its current location at the direction of Pope Sixtus V in 1586.
The statue of St. Peter in front of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City.
Michelangelo designed the dome over the main altar in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City in 1547; it was completed in 1590 after his death. The dome is 136.57 m (448.1 ft) high, making it the tallest dome in the world.
The baldachin is a massive pavilion-like structure (30 m or 98 ft tall) that stands beneath the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is reputed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world. Viewed through the structure are the Cathedra Petri (Throne of St. Peter) and the Gloria, a stained-glass sculpture, both by Bernini.
At age 24, Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères to sculpt La Pietà (meaning "compassion" in Italian) for the cardinal's funerary chapel in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. In the 18th century, the 174 cm x 195 cm (68.5 in x 76.8 in) masterpiece, carved from a single block of Carrara marble, was moved to its current site inside the basilica. Considered one of the finest sculptures ever crafted, it is the only piece Michelangelo signed, after he heard a passerby attribute the work to someone else.
The main altar in Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is covered by a 30 m- (98 ft-) tall bronze baldacchino (canopy) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and erected between 1623 and 1634.
The ceiling of the Vatican Museum.
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