Edit in JSFiddle

<div class="vertical"> 
  <div class="content">content</div>
</div> 

.vertical {
  position: relative;
  width: 200px;
  height: 200px;
  line-height: 200px;
  margin: 0 auto;
  margin-top: 10px;
  border: 1px solid blue;
  font-size: 0;
  }
 .content {
   display: inline-block;
   width: 50px;
   height: 50px;
   background-color: red;
   vertical-align: middle;
   font-size: 12px;
   line-height: 1.2em;
 }