75 Years of Vatican City State

The boundary walls of Vatican City, St Peter's Basilica, and St Peter's Square with its colonnades and obelisk; the state name 'CITTÀ DEL VATICANO', the inscription '75° Anno Dello Stato' and the years '1929 ∙ 2004'; the name of designer Guido Veroi, the initials of engraver Luciana de Simoni, and the mint mark 'R'.

The Vatican is the smallest sovereign state in the world and, at the same time, the spiritual and administrative centre of the Roman Catholic Church, the world's largest Christian community. Its existence as an independent subject of international law dates back to the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, concluded between the Holy See and the Italian state under Benito Mussolini. This agreement ended the so-called "Roman Question" - a dispute over the temporal power of the papacy that had simmered since 1870, following the incorporation of the Papal States into the united Kingdom of Italy. Upon ratification, the Pope gained territorial sovereignty over the Vatican area on the right bank of the Tiber, including St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica, among the most famous buildings in the Christian world.

Vatican City possesses all the features of a state: its own nationality, a diplomatic corps, administrative structures, and, since 1999, the euro as its currency - initially by special agreement, later formalised by treaty. Although the territory covers barely 44 hectares, the Vatican, through the Pope as head of state and the activities of the Holy See, exerts considerable geopolitical influence. Its diplomatic relations extend to more than 180 states. For the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Vatican City, the Vatican issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2004, recalling this date of great significance for European legal and church history.