The very center of Italy for many years belongedcatholic church. A territory of thirty-two thousand square kilometers constituted the papal province. And it was just over one and a half hundred years ago, in the middle of the nineteenth century. But the 1870th year was marked by an event that changed everything: Rome becomes the main city of Italy. And the papal province becomes part of the kingdom of Italy. The Vatican as a state appears only when the Pope and the Italian government were able to agree, namely, in 1929. It was then that independence was recognized, and the smallest country gained its own government.
On any continent of the Earth today you can meetfollowers of the Roman Catholic Church, whose center is the Vatican. The smallest country in the world is under the rule of the Holy See, whose sovereign is the Pope. He is elected for life by the College of Cardinals, which consists of two hundred and five representatives, but only 115 of them have the right to vote in the conclave. Judicial, executive and legislative power is held by the Pope, and this smallest country is governed by the governor, who, however, is also appointed head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Today, the Vatican occupies an area of 0.44square kilometers and from all sides borders with only one state - Italy. Most of the citizens of the Holy See live on the territory of the city-state, and the total number of the population slightly exceeds eight hundred people. But despite this, economically the smallest country feels quite well. Catholics around the world send donations here, and this is the main source of state revenue. A sufficiently large "piece" of the income part falls on the share of tourists. Most visitors do not spare money to buy gifts and souvenirs for relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.
But the heart of the Catholic world is firsta line of priceless treasures that people from all over the world come to see. There is no person who would not hear about the Vatican library. Manuscripts relating to the period of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, books with more than one and a half million here, manuscripts, coins and medals, geographical maps and engravings are the golden fund of the library. The Sistine Chapel is known not only as the venue of the Pope's secret meetings, there are paintings made by the hand of the great Michelangelo. St. Peter’s Cathedral is the largest and most significant building of the Vatican, which for five hundred years has been inextricably linked with the names of such great masters as Raphael and Michelangelo, Bramante and Giacomo della Porta.
The smallest country in Europe and the world has itsrailway line, the length of which is only seven hundred meters, but it is part of the Italian railway. And it is surprising the presence of a helipad, which is connected with two airports in Rome. The Vatican, of course, also has its own mail, police and station, its foreign ministry and army, numbering in a hundred people. Here they publish their own newspapers, 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 emblem indicates that the smallest country is completely independent, that it does not depend on Italy, although its entire territory is located inside the Italian capital. Diplomatic relations are linked with the majority of countries in the world.
The Vatican is located in a great location, nearfrom flowing through the whole of Rome Tiber. The picturesque hill of Mons Vaticanus got its name from the ancient oracle. And the appearance of magnificent gardens at this place is also associated with the name Caligula.
