Tourism in Vatican City
The Vatican was built during the year 326 A.D. As the population and housing grew, the first palace was built during the 5th century under the reign of Pope Symmachus (498–514). Under the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States grew to include a large portion of central Italy. But since the unification of Italy in the mid-19th century, Vatican City is the only papal state that has survived. As of 1929, because of the Lateran Treaty, the Vatican is recognized as its own independent state, the smallest in the world in population and land size, with a population of just over 800 people in July 2011. The Pope is not only the head of the Catholic religion but also head of state for Vatican City. Since the Vatican is located in Italy, the main language of the Vatican state (or Vatican City) is Italian.
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo Venezia (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval house intended as the residence of the cardinals appointed to the church of San Marco. In 1469 it became a residential papal palace, having undergone a massive extension, and in 1564, Pope Pius IV, to win the sympathies of the Republic of Venice, gave the mansion to the Venetian embassy to Rome on the terms that part of the building would be kept as a residence for the cardinals, the Apartment Cibo, and that the republic would provide for the building's maintenance and future restoration. The palace faces Piazza Venezia and Via del Plebiscito. It currently houses the National Museum of the Palazzo Venezia.