Written by Khushii Chaudhry

The world’s smallest country (called a city-state) is The Vatican City

Here are some interesting facts about the Vatican

• Vatican City is a self-governing sovereign country inside the city of Rome in Italy.
• It is a city-state that calls itself “its own country” and thus, is also known as the smallest country in the world in terms of population and area.
• The Vatican mints its own money, prints its own stamps, and issues passports, and license plates.
• It also has its own flag and anthem.
• It gets its revenue from museum admission fees, stamps, and souvenir sales.
• The Pope acts as the head of state but in reality, has no real power as it’s a democracy.
• The population of Vatican City is 900 out of which, the majority live abroad. The Swiss guard and the Pope himself are the only people who live in the city now.
• Vatican City consists of great sites and shows the rich history that it has. The bulk of Vatican City consists of St. Peter’s Basilica, Apostolic Palace, and, the Sistine Chapel.

The St Peter’s Basilica is the biggest and most beautiful church ever seen. It was designed by a Famous artist, Michaelangelo. He was an extraordinary architect in addition to being one of the engineers for the construction of the building as well. His aim was to consolidate the elements of the established churches into one grand church that would be grander of them all. He drew inspiration from the St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

The Sistine Chapel, inside the basilica, is now considered to be one of the holiest Christian sites in the world and the greatest church in the world.

Although Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, it consists of a few of the most prestigious sites in the world which represent the history of the Popes that came to Rome and how integral it is in the history of the world.

It has served as a spiritual center for millions of Catholics all over the world and recently, has become extremely popular as a tourist magnet because of the supremacy of the monuments of the country.

The economy of Vatican city flows solely because of the revenue earned from tourism. Every year, it sees billions of people visit only to see the astonishing architecture of the country and its importance in the history of the world.

It is said, that just by walking into the Church, one can feel the power of St. Peter in the Basilica in addition to their eyes popping out because of the grandeur reflected by the paintings on the walls.

Read: What’s the Difference between a Church and a Cathedral

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