Vatican City spreads out to the right of the Tiber and lies between Monte Mario to the north and the Janiculum to the south. Since 1929, the year in which the Lateran Treaty was stipulated between the Holy See and the Italian State, the Vatican City has been an independent sovereign state. The Vatican prints its own stamps, has its own railroad station, and a well-known newspaper, the Osservatore Romano, which is distributed throughout Italy. The city also has its own police force (once called Pontifical Gendarmes) and a real police service as represented by the famous Swiss Guards which, from the early 16th century, protected the person of the pope and still today wear uniforms that were probably designed by Michelangelo.
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Via della Conciliazione approaching Basilica of San Pietro  |
Aspiring artists  |
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Cupola mosaic 
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roof top  |
from above  |
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Figures overlooking Piazza San Pietro  |
Swiss guard  |
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City view across the Tiber  |
