country the gallery of maps
___MASK16___ , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic in Europe . It consists of 26 cantons , and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities . The country is situated in Western - Central Europe , and is bordered by ___MASK62___ to the south , ___MASK39___ to the west , ___MASK44___ to the north , and ___MASK96___ and Liechtenstein to the east . ___MASK16___ is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps , the Swiss Plateau and the Jura , spanning an area of . While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory , the Swiss population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau , where the largest cities are to be found : among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva . A mediterranean climate or dry summer climate is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin . The lands around the Mediterranean Sea form the largest area where this climate type is found , but it also is found in most of coastal ___MASK15___ , in parts of Western and ___MASK28___ , in southwestern South Africa , sections of Central Asia , and in central Chile . ___MASK50___ , officially ___MASK50___ State or the State of ___MASK50___ , is a walled enclave within the city of Rome . With an area of approximately 44 hectares ( 110 acres ), and a population of 842 , it is the smallest State in the ___MASK24___ by both area and population , but formally it is not sovereign , sovereignty being held by the Holy See , the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the ___MASK24___ . The euro ( sign : €; code : EUR ) is the official currency of the eurozone , which consists of 19 of the member states of the ___MASK17___ : Austria , Belgium , Cyprus , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , ___MASK87___ , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands , Portugal , ___MASK4___ , Slovenia , and Spain . The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the ___MASK17___ and four other European countries , as well as unilaterally by two others , and is consequently used daily by some 337 million Europeans . Outside of Europe , a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency . ___MASK12___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK12___ , also known as the Most Serene Republic of ___MASK12___ , is an enclaved microstate surrounded by ___MASK62___ , situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains . Its size is just over , with a population of 33 , 562 . Its capital is the City of ___MASK12___ and its largest city is Dogana . ___MASK12___ has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe . ___MASK62___ , officially the ___MASK90___ , is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe . Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea , ___MASK62___ shares open land borders with France , Switzerland , ___MASK96___ , Slovenia , San Marino and ___MASK50___ . ___MASK62___ covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate ; due to its shape , it is often referred to in ___MASK62___ as " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). With 61 million inhabitants , it is the fourth most populous EU member state . ___MASK68___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK68___ ( Slovene : , abbr .: " RS "), is a nation state in southern Central Europe , located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes . It is bordered by ___MASK62___ to the west , ___MASK96___ to the north , Hungary to the northeast , Croatia to the south and southeast , and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest . It covers and has a population of 2 . 06 million . It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the United Nations , ___MASK17___ , and NATO . The capital and largest city is Ljubljana . The Mediterranean Sea ( pronounced ) is a sea connected to the ___MASK19___ , surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land : on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia , on the south by North Africa , and on the east by the Levant . The sea is sometimes considered a part of the ___MASK19___ , although it is usually identified as a separate body of water . The Gallery of Maps ( Italian : Galleria delle carte geografiche ) is a gallery located on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard in the Vatican containing a series of painted topographical maps of ___MASK62___ based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti . The gallery was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII as part of other artistic works commissioned by the Pope to decorate the Vatican . It took Danti three years ( 1580 -- 1583 ) to complete the 40 panels of the 120 m long gallery . ___MASK39___ , officially the ___MASK88___ , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of ___MASK39___ extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the ___MASK19___ . Overseas ___MASK39___ include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . ___MASK39___ spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux .