Explore the Vatican – the smallest independent country in the world

Vatican is the smallest country in the world in terms of area and population, but very rich and powerful.

The name Vatican predates Christianity, coming from the Latin word Mons Vaticanus, meaning Vatican hill. The Vatican was founded in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty as the successor to the broader Papal State, which existed from AD 756 to 1870 and was a theocratic monarchy. The Vatican City State and the Holy See are two separate entities. “Vatican” is a term commonly used to refer to the territory of a country, closely associated with the city of Rome, the official document being issued in Italian and issuing ordinary passports to its citizens. “Holy See” is a term that has a broad connotation in terms of religion and governance structure over 1.2 billion believers in the world, official documents are issued mainly in Latin and issue passports. diplomacy and public service. Under the Lateran Treaty, several Holy See properties located within Italian territory, most famously Gandolfo Castle and Peter’s Basilica, were granted external territorial status similar to embassies. The Pope is the Head of State and head of government of the Vatican City State, is the non-inherited monarch, the only autocratic king in Europe, wielding absolute power, including legislative, executive and judicial powers. for the Vatican. The Pope is also the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome and the leader of the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church. When the Holy See is vacant, a conclave of cardinals under the age of 80 is convened to elect a new pope. Under the Pope, the heads are the Premier (who is also the Chairman of the Ceremonial Commission), the Secretary of State (who also acts as secretary of state) and the Chancellor of the Vatican, all of whom are appointed by the Pope, as well as may be dismissed by Him at any time. Many citizens have Vatican citizenship but live abroad (actually in Rome, Italy); The largest community in the Vatican are pastors from all over the world who come here to live and study. The Vatican has the smallest army (about over 100 people, well-trained, strong, disciplined and marksmen), founded in 1506. The Vatican has its own stamp, passport, license plate, national flag and anthem, but the currency is the Euro. The Vatican has a train station with a total length of just over 800 meters, but there is no tax system. The dispute between Italy and the Catholic Church in the Vatican ended in 1929 with the Lateran Pacts agreement, leaving the Vatican independent with the amount of money spent $ 93 million – the foundation of the national treasury. The Vatican also has a stake in certain corporations in the US, and more than 80% of its income comes from investments in the US and Canada. Tickets to museums, stamps and souvenirs, and donations from believers and organizations are also sources of income for the Vatican. The Vatican has an observatory at Gdandolfo Castle and a research center equipped with a modern telescope located on Mount Graham, southeast Arizona (USA). The Vatican itself is a cultural building, Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to many world-renowned works of art, including works by famous artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The amount of wealth stored in this cathedral is also very large, in addition to European masterpieces of art, there are also countless gold and foreign currencies. The Vatican Library is one of the oldest libraries in the world (officially established in 1475, although in fact it has existed since ancient times) possessing 75,000 rare documents, throughout history. Although the area of ​​territory and military strength is the lowest in the world, the political and cultural influence of the Vatican is comparable to that of the leading powers because behind it is 1/6 of the world’s population (believers). Christian). In 1984, the Vatican was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Visitors to Italy cannot ignore Rome and once they come to Rome, they will definitely visit the Vatican – the smallest and most attractive country on the planet.