Geography of Vatican City
41°54′10″N 12°27′9″E / 41.90278°N 12.45250°E
The geography of Vatican City is unique due to the country's position as an urban, landlocked
Climate
The city state has the same climate as Rome: temperate, mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September).
Terrain
Vatican City sits on a low hill. The hill has been called the Vatican Hill (in Latin, Mons Vaticanus) since long before Christianity existed. An Etruscan settlement, possibly called Vatica or Vaticum, may have existed in the area generally known by the ancient Romans as "Vatican territory" (vaticanus ager), but if so no archaeological trace of it has been discovered.[3]
Extreme points
This is a list of the
- North: at the intersection of the Viale Vaticano and the Via Leone IV (41°54′26.74″N 12°27′19.46″E / 41.9074278°N 12.4554056°E)
- South: at the intersection of the Via della Stazione Vaticana and the Via di Porta Cavalleggeri (41°54′00.78″N 12°27′16.14″E / 41.9002167°N 12.4544833°E)
- West: at the intersection of the Viale Vaticano and the Via Aurelia (41°54′07.08″N 12°26′44.62″E / 41.9019667°N 12.4457278°E)
- East: easternmost edge of Saint Peter's Square (41°54′08.16″N 12°27′30.01″E / 41.9022667°N 12.4583361°E)
The lowest point in Vatican City is an unnamed location at 19 metres (62 ft). The highest point is another unnamed location at 76 metres (249 ft). The tallest building is St. Peter's Basilica, at 138 metres (453 feet).
Land use
The nature of the estate is fundamentally urban and none of the land is reserved for significant agriculture or other exploitation of natural resources. The city state displays an impressive degree of
Environment
In July 2007, the Vatican accepted an offer that would make it the only
International agreements
- Party to: Ozone Layer Protection
- Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification
See also
- Geography of Italy
- Properties of the Holy See
- Index of Vatican City-related articles
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.
- Notes
- ^ The De Agostini Atlas Calendar listed the area of Vatican City as 0.44 km2 in its 1930 edition[1] but corrected it to 0.49 km2 in its 1945–46 edition.[2] The figure of 0.44 km2 is still widely cited by many sources despite its inaccuracy.
- ^ De Agostini Atlas Calendar (in Italian), 1930, p. 99.
- ^ De Agostini Atlas Calendar (in Italian), 1945–46, p. 128.
- ^ Lawrence Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 405.
- ^ "The Vatican to go carbon neutral". United Press International. July 13, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
- ^ "Carbon offsets: How a Vatican forest failed to reduce global warming". The Christian Science Monitor. 20 April 2010.
- ^ . Ethical Corporation http://www.ethicalcorp.com/environment/dangers-lurk-offset-investments:.
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