Vatican City’s national flag contains a white cross, crossed keys and a papal tiara.
The flag of Vatican City is divided vertically into yellow and white halves. The white half carries the emblems of the Holy See: the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal tiara. A white cross also appears on the keys’ design and is part of the heraldic imagery.
The two keys traditionally represent spiritual and temporal authority entrusted to Saint Peter. One key is gold and the other silver, and a red cord links them. The tiara identifies the pope as the sovereign of Vatican City and head of the Catholic Church.
The flag was adopted in 1929, when the Lateran Treaty established Vatican City as an independent state. It is sometimes confused with the flag of the Holy See, whose diplomatic identity is closely related, but Vatican City’s flag is the state flag flown within the world’s smallest country.