The smallest country is in the center of Italy

The very center of Italy for many years belonged to the Catholic Church. The territory, equal to thirty two thousand square kilometers, was the papal region. And it was just over a hundred and fifty years ago, in the middle of the nineteenth century. But the year 1870 was marked by an event that changed everything: Rome became the main city of Italy. And the papal region becomes part of the Kingdom of Italy. The Vatican as a state appears only when the Pope and the Italian government managed to agree, namely, in 1929. It is then that independence is recognized, and the smallest country gains its own government.

On any continent of the Earth today one can meet followers of the Roman Catholic Church, whose center is the Vatican. The smallest country in the world is under the authority of the Holy See, whose sovereign is the Pope. He is elected for a life term by the College of Cardinals, which consists of two hundred and five representatives, but only 115 of them have the right to vote on the conclave. Judicial, executive and legislative power is held by the Pope, and this smallest country is governed by the governor, who, incidentally, is also appointed head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Today the Vatican occupies a territory equal to 0.44 square kilometers and borders on only one country - Italy. Most of the citizens of the Holy See live on the territory of the city-state, and the total population slightly exceeds eight hundred people. But, despite this, economically the smallest country feels quite decent. Catholics around the world send donations here, and this is the main source of the state's revenues. A fairly large "piece" of the revenue part falls to the share of tourists. Most of the visitors do not spare money to buy gifts and souvenirs for relatives, friends, co-workers and just acquaintances.

But the heart of the Catholic world is first of all priceless treasures, to look at which people come from all corners of our planet. There is no person who does not hear about the Vatican library. Manuscripts dating back to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, books that number more than one and a half million here, manuscripts, coins and medals, geographic maps and engravings are the gold fund of the library. The Sistine Chapel is known not only as the seat of secret meetings of the Pope, here are the murals made by the hand of the great Michelangelo. St. Peter's Cathedral - the largest and most significant building of the Vatican, which has been inextricably linked to the names of such great masters as Raphael and Michelangelo, Bramante and Giacomo della Porta for five hundred years.

The smallest country in Europe and the world has its own railway branch, the length of which is only seven hundred meters, but it is part of the Italian railway. And still surprising is the presence of a helicopter pad, which is connected with two airports in Rome. The Vatican, of course, also has its own mail, police and railway station, its own Foreign Ministry and an army of 100 people. Here, their newspapers are issued, stamps are printed, coins are minted. The presence of its own telephone network and broadcasting station, and most importantly - such attributes of state power as the flag and the coat of arms indicate that the smallest country is completely independent, that it does not depend on Italy, although its entire territory is located inside the Italian capital. With most countries in the world, the enclave state is linked by diplomatic relations.

The Vatican is located in a magnificent location, close to the flowing Tiber across the whole of Rome. The picturesque hill Mons Vaticanus got its name from the ancient oracle. And the appearance of magnificent gardens in this place is associated with the name of Caligula.