Citta del Vaticano
- proper noun
:
Ciudad del Vaticano
- Many pilgrims travel to Citta del Vaticano to attend religious ceremonies at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Examples
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The archives of Citta del Vaticano contain centuries of historical documents.
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She studied Renaissance art during her visit to Citta del Vaticano last summer.
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I visited Citta del Vaticano last summer.
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Have you ever been to Citta del Vaticano?
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Many pilgrims travel to Citta del Vaticano to attend religious ceremonies at St. Peter’s Basilica.
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She studied Renaissance art during her visit to Citta del Vaticano last summer.
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The archives of Citta del Vaticano contain centuries of historical documents.
Synonyms
194
3.7
An independent city state in Rome that is the Pope's official home and the center of the Catholic Church
5
4.1
A very small independent state inside Rome where the Pope lives and the Catholic Church is based
Surface Forms
Morphology
Citta + del + Vaticano
The phrase literally combines Italian constituents meaning 'city' (città) + 'of the' (del) + 'Vatican' (Vaticano), so its meaning 'Vatican City' is directly derivable from the parts. As a transparent place-name construction with clear cross‑linguistic parallels, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would understand it.
Etymology
Citta del Vaticano shows the parts Citta ('city') and Vaticano ('Vatican'), and one popular story says the name comes from Vatican Hill near Rome where St. Peter was buried and a church grew long ago. Because a small community and the Pope's home grew there, the name now means the tiny 'city' that is the Pope's 'home'.