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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 March 2025. Enclaved Holy See's independent city-state This article is about the city-state in Europe. For the city-state's government, see Holy See. Vatican City State Stato della Città del Vaticano (Italian) Status Civitatis Vaticanae (Latin) Flag Coat of arms Anthem: Inno e Marcia Pontificale ...
The Fountains of St. Peter's Square (Italian: Fontane di Piazza San Pietro) are two fountains in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, created by Carlo Maderno (1612–1614) and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1667–1677) to ornament the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica. The older fountain, by Maderno, is on the north side of the square.
Composed of a large bronze pine cone almost four meters high which once spouted water from the top, the Pigna originally stood near the Pantheon next to the Temple of Isis. It was moved to the courtyard of the Old St. Peter's Basilica during the Middle Ages and then moved again, in 1608, to its present location.
The initial effort to build the aqueduct, by architect Matteo Bartolini, was a failure: Bartolini miscalculated the incline of the channel, so the flow of water was much less than needed reach the Quirinal Hill, the intended site of its terminal fountain. [5] Giovanni Fontana took over the building of the aqueduct, which was completed by June 1587.
Vatican City issues its own coins and stamps. It has used the euro as its currency since 1 January 1999, owing to a special agreement with the European Union (council decision 1999/98). Euro coins and notes were introduced on 1 January 2002—the Vatican does not issue euro banknotes .
It was known for the purity of its water. The aqueduct was destroyed by the Visigoths in the 6th century, then partially restored by Pope Adrian I (772-795) in the 8th century. Through the Middle Ages it was the only aqueduct supplying drinking water to Roman fountains; the rest of the city's drinking water came from the Tiber River.
The geography of Vatican City is unique due to the country's position as an urban, landlocked enclave of Rome, Italy. With an area of 49 hectares (120 acres; 0.49 square kilometres), [ a ] and a border with Italy of 3.5 km (2.2 mi), it is the world's smallest independent state .
Because Vatican City is too small, diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome, not in Vatican City. Diplomatic missions to the Holy See; Diplomatic missions of Vatican City: none. (See below). The Holy See, which Vatican City is the sovereign territory of, maintains diplomatic relations with 176 countries.