Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Flag of the Vatican City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: List of flags of the Papacy
National flag. Flag ratio: 1:1
The flag of the Vatican City consists of two vertical bands of gold (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the Papal Tiara centered in the white band. It is one of only two square country flags in the world, the other being the flag of Switzerland.
The flag was adopted on June 7, 1929, the year when Pope Pius XI made the treaty with Italy, setting up a new independent state governed by the Popes, who in 1870 had lost their territorial sovereignty with the final incorporation into Italy of the previously existing much larger Papal States. The Papal States used a purple and gold flag, which resembled the Vatican City one.
The square flag is vertically divided into two halves, the half closer to the flagpole is yellow, the other is white. The Vatican City coat of arms can be found in the white half. The coat of arms consists of:
- the papal tiara (as used under the pontificate of Pius XI);
- the two keys which represent the keys to Heaven (according to the Gospel of Matthew 16:19) given by Jesus Christ to St. Peter. The popes are regarded as the successor of Peter, and the gold and silver keys have been significant elements in the symbolism of the Papal State since the 14th century. The gold represents spiritual power, while the silver key represents worldly power.
- a red cord connecting the keys.
The yellow and white of the flag also refer to the keys – in heraldry yellow represents gold, while white represents silver.
 |
 |
|
|
|
|---|---|
| National flags | Sovereign states · Dependent territories · Unrecognized states · Formerly independent states |
| National coats of arms | Sovereign states · Dependent territories · Unrecognized states |