The Vatican City

 The Vatican City

     Although this is the smallest country in the world, it's king is widely recognized by many. The Vatican City is a city-state that is enclaved around the country of Italy. The country has no capital since the country acts as a capital itself. 

     To start off with this article, let's talk about the flag of the Vatican City.

Flag of the Vatican City

     The flag of the Vatican is one of three flags that does not have a rectangle shape. Switzerland and the Vatican City both have square flags but the other country, Nepal, has a flag that looks like two triangles on top of each other.

    The flag has a ratio of 1:1. When the Pope dies, the flag is in half-mast. The yellow on the flag represents the holy power of the Pope whilst the white displays his worldly authority. The white half of the flag has the coat of arms. The keys on the coat of arms represent St. Peter and the three tiaras represent the Papal States which leads me into my next section: history.

The History of the Vatican City

     To start off, we'll first talk about the Papal States. The Papal States took almost half of Italy and was the home of the Popes. Then, the largest church, St. Peter's Basilica, was built. 

     There was a wall surrounding the church. It was on a hill named Vatican (hence the name). Soon, Italy conquered the Papal States and the Pope at the time decided to hide behind the wall and not recognize the existence of Italy. Benito Mussolini, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, was tired of this and decided to give sovereignty to the Vatican and tons of money for taking the Papal States. In return, the Pope decided to recognize Italy as a sovereign state and remain neutral when it came to politics and such.

     The official day in which the Vatican became a completely sovereign state was the eleventh of February 1929

     There are four requirements that must be fulfilled for a country to be a country. Let's see those requirements.

Country Requirements:

-Defined Territory

     The Vatican City is a landlocked country surrounded by Italy founded in Rome. 

     This is the shape of the Vatican City. The Vatican City is 0.44 sq. km. To put that in perspective, it's 120 times smaller than the island of Manhattan. That makes it the smallest country in the world. It is so small that you can walk around it in about half an hour.

-Permanent Population

     The Vatican City has the smallest population in the world. As of 2021, there were 800 residents living in the Vatican. Popes, cardinals, bishops, and such cannot have a female partner to avoid lustful sins. Therefore no one can be born inside the Vatican. The Pope is also the monarch of the Vatican. To get citizenship, you must be approved by the monarch, then the Pope. Since the Pope is the monarch, then he approves you, then approves you again. 

     Although it has the smallest population, it has the seventh largest population density excluding Palestine. As of 2021, the population density is 2,273.

-Government

     The Vatican City is an absolute non-hereditary monarchy. As of 2022, the current monarch is Pope Francesco. The next monarch is never based off of blood but based off of the cardinals who vote on who will become the next Pope.

-Relations w/ Other Countries

     There are 193 nations that are a part of the United Nations with two nations that are non-member observer states. These are Palestine and The Holy See. This means that both Palestine and the Holy See can get involved in the United Nations, they just can't vote on anything. But what does this have to do with the Vatican City?

The Holy See

     The chair that you see in the picture is the Holy See. The Holy See is the throne to the Pope. Once a Pope dies or retires (usually dies), the Pope's cardinals are responsible for choosing the next Pope. Usually, cardinals decide to pick one of their own. The only requirements to being Pope is to be Catholic and male so cardinals can choose any person who is Catholic and male, but that has never happened before.

     The Holy See is not just the throne to the Pope but also the central government of the Roman Catholic church. So technically, the Holy See is the Vatican City. Speaking of Pope, let's talk about the Pope.

The Pope

     The Pope is the head of the Catholic church as well as the sovereign state of the Vatican City and the Holy See. He is also the bishop of Rome. As of 2022, the Pope is Pope Francesco who is the first Pope in a millennium to not be European. He was born in the capital of Argentina which is in South America. He is the 266th Pope.

Climate

     It doesn't really snow in The Vatican. It does get cold but not that much. It's usually around 30 degrees during the summer (If you are from Malaysia, Liberia, or the USA, please note that I am using Celsius). That's really hot! 

General Information

-The country is a city-state, so the capital is the country itself.

-Currency: € (Euro)

-They drive on the right side of the road (if you drive on the left, you can get in serious trouble since there are several cameras).

-The URL domain is .va and the website is this blue text. Click it.

-Anthem: Inno e Marcia Pontificale

Official Language(s): Italian (Many other languages are spoken as well)

BEFORE YOU GO!

     

     The Vatican City has a strong influence on the whole world as there are several Catholics in the world. Although I am not a Catholic myself and I am Christian (there is a major difference), I still recognize the Pope's power and one of his albums really changed me since it also has a major impact on both Catholics and Christians. The Catholic Church is in control of the Pope and his influence on Catholics also sparks an influence on Christians. 

     Although this country is 120 times smaller than Manhattan, it still sparks a revolutionary change in all of us as human beings.

     On Monday, we'll talk about our next country on our list: Monaco.