Hi! Sorry that it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, but I’m back with something as informative as ever!
Today, I’m going to tell you about a country. But not just any country. I’m going to tell you about the smallest country in the world! However, trust me, being the smallest country is only ONE of its facts.
Where and what is Vatican City?
Vatican City is located in Europe, surrounded by Rome, Italy. It is sometimes called just Vatican instead of Vatican City. Vatican is known for being the smallest country, having a size of only 0.44km². It is also part of the only three countries that are located in another country. Not only that but is also the only country that is an enclave of a city!
Vatican has many titles, but it is actually home to some important things too! Vatican is home to the pope and the Holy See. The current pope is Pope Francis, who is 83 years old. He has been the pope since 2013.
The Holy See is basically the office of the pope. The Roman Catholic Church's government is the Holy See. Sometimes the Holy See is confused with Vatican, but they are two different places. The Holy See is just placed in Vatican City.
History of Vatican City
Years ago, the Pope had power over the Papal States, which was basically majority of Italy. However, many Catholic Popes feared that Italy would become its own country, and that they would lose control over at least one of the Papal states. So, they tried to stop Italy from uniting. In 1861 Italy was under the power of King of Savoy, but Rome and Latium remained unconquered. However, on September 20, 1870, Italian troops invaded. Things didn’t go well. Rome became capital of the new kingdom.
The Pope stated that he was under the Italians custody, and later removed all who helped attack the Papal States. This stopped Catholics from participating in public life under Catholic government.
In 1929, Benito Mussolini decided to sign the Lateran Treaty with the Holy See, which established the Vatican. Another treaty provided money to the Vatican each year to make up for lost territories.
And that’s how Vatican City came to be.
FACT FILE
Name: Vatican City
Located: Italy, Europe. Enclave of Rome
Language: The Vatican does not have an official language. Italian is the main language used. The Holy See's official language is Latin.
Population: 453 people, 246 of them are citizens
National Animal: Long-tailed field Mouse
National Flower: Easter Lilly
Current Pope: Pope Francis
I hope you have learned something new today. I’m sure I have. Vatican city is only one of the geographic wonders of the world. Keep exploring and learning, and you’ll see that our world has so many cool facts!
See ya!