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.
Vatican Splendors
The Vatican Splendors provides the United States with an exclusive look into the history of the Catholic Church and the inside of the Vatican. Numerous people desire to see these works of art in Rome as well as the rest of the world, as Jaweed Kaleem explains in his article. "Each day, 20,000 visitors line up for hours to catch these masterpieces by names synonymous with beauty -- Michelangelo, Bernini and Guercino, to name a few -- and to get a glimpse into the history of faith and aesthetics." Furthermore, several of the artifacts arranged in the Vatican Splendors would not be shown in Rome. According to Peter Radestsky, "'Even if you go to Rome, you won't see some of these things. They're just not displayed." This statement is reiterated in Kaleem's article. "'There are many objects that have not been on tour before,' says Mark Greenberg, president of Evergreen Exhibitions, a San Antonio company that also put together the prior Vatian exhibit in Fort Lauderdale. 'If you had a chance to go to Rome, you would not see the reliquary with the bones of Sts. Peter and Paul because it is kept in a private chapel in the College of St. Urban,' he says. 'The statues of Sts. Peter, Paul, John and Andrew are new, as is the Guercino painting.'"