That Vatican City is the smallest country in the world and the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, is known to all. But did you know that Vatican City sits atop a necropolis or that is also known as the Holy See? Here are some interesting facts about Vatican city that you need to know.
Vatican City didn’t exist until 1929!
Vatican City came into existence as its own sovereign state only in 1929 when the Lateran Treaty was signed between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. As per the treaty, Italy compensated the church $92 million for the Papal States. In fact, the agreement was signed by Benito Mussolini, the then head of the Italian government on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III.
Vatican City is built atop a city of dead!
Back in the Roman times, a large necropolis stood on what is now the Vatican Hill. During the reign of Emperor Nero, a great fire destroyed most of Rome. When the Romans blamed the emperor for the fire, he shifted the blame to the Christians accusing them of starting the blaze. He began persecuting and executing them by burning them at stake and crucifying them. St. Peter, a disciple of Jesus and the first bishop of Rome, was among those crucified. He was supposedly buried in a shallow grave on Vatican Hill on which St Peter’s Basilica was built. St. Peter’s Basilica is the world’s second-largest Christian church and the most important one. The basilica’s baldacchino or altar is believed to lie directly over St. Peter’s grave.
Vatican Museums have one of the largest collections in the world.
The Vatican Museums are a treasure trove of art home to masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and other art works collected by the popes throughout the centuries. Its collection of over two million art pieces can stretch up to 9 miles which could be wrapped four and half times around the Vatican walls!
Popes did not live at the Vatican until the 14th century.
For centuries, popes lived at the Lateran Palace in Rome even after the construction of the original St. Peter’s Basilica. In fact, in 1309, they left Rome after the papal court was moved to Avignon in France. It was only after they returned back in 1377 that the popes start residing at Vatican City.
The Pope has his own personal army from Switzerland!
The security of the Pope is in the hands of a tiny army of 135 Swiss soldiers, officially known as the Pontifical Swiss Guard. In 1506, Pope Julius II hired one of the Swiss mercenary forces for his personal protection and since then the Swiss Guard has been protecting the Pope! With their rather comical colorful uniforms, these soldiers may come across as purely ceremonial but they all have basic Swiss military training.
Vatican City has it very own euro.
In 2000, the Vatican and Italy signed an agreement that enabled the Holy See to adopt the euro as its official currency and mint its own euro coins with effigies of the pope. These Vatican euros are legal tender and can be used freely throughout the Eurozone.
None of Vatican City’s citizens are born in it.
Since Vatican City has no hospitals, technically, no one is born there! Besides, getting citizenship in the country is quite complicated. Citizenship is granted only to those who live in the Vatican because of work or office held.
Vatican City has the world’s shortest railway network.
With just two 300-meter tracks, two freight sidings, and one station, Vatican City has the smallest rail network in the world. The railway is mostly used for importing goods and there are no regular passenger trains.
It is the only country on UNESCO’s World Heritage listing.
Many countries have several sites with UNESCO listings. In fact, Italy has the highest with a total of 51 UNESCO designated heritage sites. However, Vatican City is the only entire country listed as a UNESCO site!
The Vatican post office is among the world’s best.
According the Universal Postal Union, the Vatican postal office is “one of the best postal systems in the world” and “more letters are sent each year, per inhabitant from the Vatican’s 00120 postal code than from anywhere else in the world”. It’s service is supposed to be so efficient that many Romans go all the way to Vatican post office every week to post their letters and documents! The Vatican even has its own postage stamps which have been in use since 1929.
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Tags: Italy Rome Vatican City
