Vatican City State

Vatican City State is the smallest state in the world and a unique object in the world political map. It is situated within the territory of Rome, but is completely independent from Italy.

The name "Vatican" is derived from the name of the hill of Monte Vaticano, where this city state is located. By the way, during the time of ancient Rome this place was not inhabited and was considered sacred.

Like any independent state, the Vatican has a coat of arms, anthem, flag and its own press, mail, telegraph and railway station. The Vatican is linked to the Italian railways by the double-track railway line 275 meters in length. There are no airports in the Vatican.

The population of Vatican City is about 800 people. But we can say that the Vatican has more than a billion subjects – that is, all the Catholic believers on earth, because each of them should obey the word of the Pope.

However, only those who directly serve the Holy See may be the citizens of the Vatican. If a person ceases such activities, they lose citizenship. Under current international agreements, those who ceased to be citizens of the Vatican and do not have the nationality of another country, become citizens of Italy. Vatican citizenship cannot be inherited.

Pope is a kind of “democratic” ruler: he is elected by the College of Cardinals, and only cardinals under the age of 80 years can take part in the elections. But the choice is not built on the principle of simple majority: to become Pope, the clergy member must score at least two-thirds of the votes. At the same time the Pope is an absolute theocratic monarch in his home state: the supreme legislative, executive and judicial powers are concentrated in his hands. Ex officio he holds the title “Sovereign of the Vatican City State”.

The Vatican maintains diplomatic relations with other nations of the world and participates in international treaties. For example, in 1971 the Holy See has joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, providing it a strong moral support from one of the most influential religious leaders.

The Vatican is in the euro zone. He has its own design of coins having on the obverse the portrait of the Pope who reigned at the time of their coinage. Tourism and donations of the faithful are the main sources of income for the Vatican.