Vatican interesting facts about the country for children. Vatican. Facts about the smallest country

1. Although the Vatican is considered an enclave state (a state within another state), in fact it is just the location of the throne of the Pope (the Holy See), the papal court and its staff. The Vatican's status in international law is as a subsidiary sovereign territory of the Holy See.

2. Diplomats accredited to the Vatican are located in the Italian capital Rome, since there is too little space on the Vatican territory to accommodate them. Because of this, Italy's diplomatic mission to the Vatican is actually located in Italy itself.

3. The total length of the Vatican state border, passing only through the territory of Italy, is only 3.2 kilometers.

4. The Vatican is an absolute theocratic monarchy ruled by the Holy See. The sovereign of the Holy See, in whose hands the absolute legislative, executive and judicial powers are concentrated, is the Pope, elected by the cardinals for a life term.

5. Since the Vatican does not produce or sell anything, its main sources of income are donations from Catholics and tourism. The Vatican has a planned economy, that is, the government has complete control over the state budget, which amounts to 310 million US dollars.

6. The Vatican has as many as 4 types of armed forces: the Noble Guard, the Palatine (Palace) Guard, the Papal Gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard, and the latter is subordinate only to the Holy See.

7. There is no Vatican citizenship, so local residents are citizens of the Holy See and have a passport. This passport has the diplomatic status of the Holy See and indicates belonging to the inhabitants of the Apostolic Capital (Vatican City). The entire population of the Vatican is ministers of the Catholic Church.

8. There are no airports in Vatican City. There is one helipad and an 852-metre railway linking the train station at St Peter's Basilica with the main Italian network. There is also no television or its own cellular operator. The only bank in the Vatican is called the Institute of Religious Affairs.

9. The crime rate in the Vatican is incredibly high. For every resident of the country, there is at least one crime committed on the territory of the Vatican per year. In 2003, these statistics looked like this: 87.2% of the country's population commit civil offenses once a year, and 133.6% commit criminal offenses. In fact, these crimes are committed by tourists and employees working in the Vatican but living in Italy.

10. There are practically no marriages and no children born in the Vatican. In the entire history of the Vatican, the number of marriages that took place on its territory is about 150

The Vatican is the smallest country in the world, but it is independent and sovereign. However, the Vatican can always be found on the political map of the world. Look for the capital of Italy, Rome; it is in its western part that the city-state is located.

44 hectares of area and just under a thousand people, but the sphere of influence is the whole world! A theocratic monarchy headed by the Pope was formed on February 11, 1929 by the Lutheran agreement between Roman Catholic Church and the Italian authorities.

Each of the buildings is a landmark. It is safe to call the Vatican the largest museum under open air, although it is only a few streets and two squares. The entire city is surrounded by a wall, which cannot be seen only by standing in the central square of St. Petra.

Vatican citizens are divided into two categories: ministers of the Holy See and the Pope's personal Swiss Guard. Citizenship cannot be inherited, and upon retirement it is taken away. If a person ceases to be a citizen of the Vatican and does not have the citizenship of any other state, he is granted Italian citizenship.

But the Vatican has its own passports, currency, press, stamps, football teams, coat of arms, flag, anthem, bank and even an internet server. Speaking of football teams: they are named after the players’ places of work - “Bank”, “Guardsmen”, “Telemail”, “Museum Team”.

The map of the Vatican (and there is one) contains 78 names. It is worth noting that there is a “Sports Street” on it, which is actually a small path leading to the only sports facility in the country - a tennis court.

The smallest country in the world has only 2 types of armed forces: the Papal Gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard. The Gendarmerie performs police functions, and the Swiss Guard is not subordinate to anyone except the Holy See.

The Vatican does not have a national language, but it has its own radio station broadcasting on 20 different languages all over the world.

There is no agriculture in the country.

The Vatican railway line is only 700 meters long. Air transport is a little more developed - it has its own helipad, the Vatican Heliport.

The library in the Vatican is one of the most large libraries world on the content of manuscripts and manuscripts.

In 1983, the Vatican became the only country where not a single child was born.

The Pope is elected by the cardinals for a life term and all branches of power are concentrated in his hands. As of January 2015, a total of catholic church there were 266 popes.

The Vatican has a non-profit planned economy. That is, the sources of state income are primarily donations from Catholics around the world, tourism and the sale of souvenirs. The country's annual budget is estimated at approximately $310 million. Despite this, the profit received exceeds it by 100 percent.

The Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with 174 countries of the world, in which it is represented by papal ambassadors (nuncios). The Vatican is also a member of the 15 international organizations, including WHO, WTO, UNESCO, OSCE and FAO.

The enclave state of the Vatican is located in Italy, inside the territory of Rome. This is the smallest state in the world. Going to the Italian capital, tourists certainly look into the Vatican - the heart of world Catholicism. This is where the residence of the Pope is located. Why is this dwarf state so interesting? Next, we suggest reading more unique and interesting facts about the Vatican.

1. The Vatican is the smallest independent state in the world.

2. The Vatican is named after the hill MonsVaticanus. Translated from Latin, Vacitinia means a place of fortune telling.

3. The area of the state is 440 thousand square meters. For comparison, this is 0.7 times the area of TheMall in Washington, DC.

4. The length of the Vatican state border is 3.2 kilometers.

6. The political regime of the Vatican is an absolute theocratic monarchy.

7. All residents of the Vatican are ministers of the Catholic Church.

8. Only chosen people- ministers of the Holy See, as well as representatives of the Swiss Guard of the Pope. Approximately 50% of the country's population holds a passport with diplomatic status from the Holy See, which confirms their citizenship. Citizenship is not inherited, is not given at birth, and is revoked upon termination of employment.

9. The Pope is the Sovereign of the Holy See, he leads all types of power: legislative, executive and judicial.

10. Cardinals elect the Pope for life.

11. All residents of the Vatican have citizenship of the country where they were born.

12. Diplomats accredited to the Vatican live in Rome, since they have nowhere to stay on the territory of the state.

13. A few objects are shown on the map of the state, namely 78.

14. Pope Benedict XVI actively uses mobile phone, regularly sending messages with sermons to his subscribers. A special channel has been created on YouTube where various ceremonies are broadcast. And on iPhone you can install the application from daily prayers for Catholics.

15. Solar panels are installed on the roof of one Vatican building, which provide power to electrical, lighting and heating devices.

16. The Vatican does not have its own official language. Documents are most often published in Italian and Latin, and people speak English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and other languages.

17. The population of the Vatican is slightly more than 1000 people.

18. 95% of the state’s residents are men.

19. There is no agricultural sector in the Vatican.

20. The Vatican is a non-profit state, the economy is supported mainly by taxes levied on Roman Catholic dioceses in different countries.

21. Tourism and Catholic donations make up a huge portion of the Vatican's income.

22. The production of coins and postage stamps has been developed.

23. In the Vatican there is absolute literacy, i.e. 100% of the population are literate people.

24. People of many nationalities live in the state: Italians, Swiss, Spaniards and others.

25. The Vatican is landlocked.

26. The standard of living here is comparable to Italian, as is the income of workers.

27. There are practically no highways here, and most of them are streets and alleys.

28. The flag of the Vatican has white and yellow vertical stripes, and in the center of the white one is the state’s coat of arms in the form of two crossed keys of St. Peter under the tiara (papal crown).

29. The place of residence of the head of state is the Lateran Palace, where the Lateran Agreement was signed.

30. Before the advent of Christianity, the place where the modern Vatican is located was considered sacred; access to ordinary people was prohibited.

31. The greatest artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, Bernini lived and worked in the Vatican.

32. You will be surprised, but the Vatican has a very high crime rate. According to statistics, for every person there is at least 1 crime (!) per year. These frightening statistics are explained by the fact that the law is violated by tourists and employees living in Italy. 90% of crimes remain unsolved.

33. The Vatican has a planned economy. This means that the government is entrusted with managing a state budget of 310 million US dollars.

34. A small state has several types of armed forces: the Palatine (Palace) Guard, the Papal Gendarmerie, the Noble Guard. Separately, it is worth mentioning the famous Swiss Guard, subordinate exclusively to the Holy See.

35. There are no airports in the Vatican, but there is a helipad and a railway 852 meters long.

36. There is no own television, as well as a cellular operator.

37. There is only one bank in the Vatican, called the Institute of Religious Affairs.

38. Marriages and children are very rarely born in the Vatican. During the entire existence of the state, only 150 marriages were concluded.

39. The Vatican radio station broadcasts in 20 languages in different parts of the world.

40. All state buildings are landmarks.

41. The majestic St. Peter's Cathedral surpasses all the world's in size Christian churches. Author of the grandiose architectural ensemble- Italian Giovanni Bernini.

42. The cathedral area is surrounded by two symmetrical semi-circular colonnades, which consist of 4 rows of Doric columns with a total of 284.

43. A huge 136-meter dome rises above the cathedral building - the brainchild of Michelangelo.

44. To climb to the top of the cathedral, you will have to climb 537 steps. If you don't want to walk, you can take the elevator.

45. The Vatican produces printed materials, in particular the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, which is published in different languages.

46. In a small country, the age of sexual consent is set low - 12 years. In other European countries it is higher.

47. For most countries, it has long been obvious that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and in the Vatican this fact was officially recognized only in 1992.

48. Many materials stored in the state were classified for a long time. In 1881, Pope Leo XIII allowed seminary students to visit the archives.

49. Today you can easily get acquainted with papal correspondence even from a thousand years ago, but you need to know what exactly you want to read. The length of the bookshelves is 83 kilometers, and no one will be allowed to walk through the halls in search of the necessary literature.

50. The Swiss army has long been famous for its combat power and skill in handling weapons. Pope Julius II was greatly impressed by the warriors from this country, and he “borrowed” several people for his guard. Since that time, the Swiss Guard has stood guard over the Holy See.

51. The territory of the state is surrounded by medieval walls.

52. The Vatican’s border with Italy is not officially marked, but formally it runs through St. Peter’s Square.

53. The Vatican owns some objects located in Italy. These are the Santa Maria di Galleria radio station, the Basilica of San Giovanni, the Pope's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo and a number of educational institutions.

54. It will take about an hour to walk around the perimeter of the Vatican.

55. State telephone code: 0-03906

56. Vatican ATMs are unique in that they have menus in Latin.

57. In this state you will not find a single traffic light.

58. Citizens of the Vatican are exempt from paying Italian taxes.

59. The magnificent Vatican gardens are closely guarded. Of the many fountains installed here, the one that stands out is the Galleon Fountain - a small copy of an Italian sailing ship that shoots water from cannons.

60. The Vatican is home to the world's oldest pharmacy, founded in 1277. It sells rare medicines that are not always found in Italy.

61. In the Historical Museum you can see various collections of weapons, for example, ancient Venetian sabers and unusual muskets.

62. For more than a hundred years, the Vatican has not seen fires, but 20 firefighters are on duty around the clock. By the way, there are only 3 fire trucks.

63. The Vatican Apostolic Library is a repository of the richest collection of medieval manuscripts and manuscripts. Here is the oldest copy of the Bible, published in 325.

64. The halls of the Vatican palace and park complex are named after the Renaissance artist Raphael. Thousands of people come to admire the master’s creations every year.

65. There is only one supermarket in the Vatican called “Annona”. Not everyone can purchase goods there, but only those who have a special DIRESCO pass.

66. The Vatican Post Office delivers approximately 8 million letters annually.

67. It is profitable to buy fuel in the Vatican, since it is 30% cheaper than Italian.

68. Vatican priests regularly expel evil spirits. According to chief exorcist Father Gabriel Amorth, about 300 demons are exorcised every year.

69. Every priest has the right to forgive the sins of a converted person.

70. According to the local newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Homer and Bart Simpson are Catholics. They pray before eating food and believe in the existence afterlife, and Homer prefers to sleep during Sunday sermons held in the Presbyterian church.

71. The Vatican, as you know, is located in Italy, so a Schengen visa is required to visit it.

72. The Pope has a Twitter account.

73. Michelangelo at first categorically did not want to paint the Sistine Chapel, claiming that he was a sculptor, not an artist. Then he agreed.

74. In the Vatican you can take photographs almost everywhere, except for the Sistine Chapel.

75. Pius IX reigned longest in the Vatican: 32 years.

76. Stephen II was Pope for only 4 days. He died due to an attack of apoplexy and did not even live to see his coronation.

77. Pope-mobiles, designed to transport the Pope, look very extravagant.

78. St. Peter's Square is the largest Roman square, its dimensions are 340 by 240 meters.

79. The famous Sistine Chapel was erected at the end of the 15th century by order of Pope Sixtus IV, the construction was led by the architect G. de Dolci.

80. The Sistine Chapel is closed only during the election of the Pope. The voting results can be seen by the column of smoke from burning ballots. If new chapter The Vatican is selected, then the chapel is enveloped in white smoke, otherwise – black.

81. The monetary unit of the Vatican is the euro. The state mints coins with its own symbols.

82. The Pio Cristiano Museum houses ancient works of Christian art, most of which were created within 150 years of the crucifixion of Jesus.

83. The Ethnological Missionary Museum, founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, contains exhibits from all over the world, sent by dioceses and individuals.

84. B Vatican museums you can see 800 paintings of a religious nature, in which world-famous artists had a hand in painting: Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Dali, Picasso and others.

85. If you want to rent a car, then you can’t do without $100, a credit card and an international driving license.

86. When calling a taxi by phone, it is advisable to agree on the fare in advance.

87. In Vatican shops you can buy a variety of souvenirs - magnets, calendars, postcards, keychains, etc.

88. Castel Sant'Angelo was a refuge for the Popes, there was a torture chamber here, and now the fortress houses the National War Museum and the Museum of Art.

89. Under St. Peter's Basilica there are the Sacred Grottoes of the Vatican - catacombs, narrow tunnels, niches and chapels.

90. Every Sunday afternoon the Pope blesses the people who come to St. Peter's Square.

91. The Vatican football team is officially recognized, but is not part of FIFA. The team's players are Swiss Guards, members of the Pontifical Council and museum curators. The team has its own emblem and white and yellow football uniform.

92. Rome's St. Peter's Stadium is the only football field, if you can call it that. Essentially it's just a clearing that's difficult to play on. In this regard, the Vatican national team plays matches at the Stadio Pius XII stadium, located in Albano Laziale. This is the home arena of the ASD Albalonga club from the Italian Serie D. The stadium seats 1,500 spectators.

93. The teams “Guardsmen”, “Bank”, “Telemail”, “Library” and others play in the Vatican Football League. In addition to the championship, competitions are held within the framework of the “Clerics' Cup” among seminarians and priests from Catholic educational institutions. The winners receive an interesting trophy - a metal soccer ball mounted on a pair of boots and decorated with a Catholic clergyman's hat.

The Vatican is the smallest state in the world. Its area is only 44 hectares. However, the country prints its own postage stamps, issues passports and license plates, and has its own flag and anthem.
The Vatican is an enclave state: it is located entirely within the territory of another country. The length of the Vatican's state border with Italy is 3.2 km.
Vatican citizenship is granted only to those in public service - ministers of the Holy See and representatives of the Pope's Swiss Guard. According to the Lateran Agreement of 1929, if a person ceases to be a citizen of the Vatican, he is automatically granted Italian citizenship.

4. 95% of Vatican residents are men. In total, about 840 people live in the country.

5. At Vatican ATMs you can choose between Latin. The country's only bank is called the Institute of Religious Affairs.

6. The Vatican has its own football team. It consists of members of the armed forces, members of the papal council and curators of local museums. True, the Vatican team is not a member of FIFA.

7. Vatican City residents drink more wine than any other country in the world: an average of 105 bottles per year.

8. The Vatican has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Most often, tourists and hired workers from Italy engage in sinful acts.

9. There is not a single airport in the Vatican. There is one helipad and an 852m long railway linking the station at St Peter's Basilica with the main Italian network.

10. The main sources of income for the Vatican are donations from Catholics from all over the world and tourism.

11. It is extremely rare for marriages and children to be born in the Vatican. Although in 2014, Pope Francis married 20 couples who were living “in sin.” Some of them already had children at that time.

12. The Vatican Apostolic Library is one of the richest in the world. It houses the most extensive collection of manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The library's holdings include about 1.6 million printed books and 150 thousand manuscripts.

13. The literacy rate in Vatican City is 100%.

14. In the Vatican you can buy a souvenir calendar depicting the most attractive Catholic priests. The works belong to the Italian photographer Piero Pazzi. The cost of Calendario Romano is 10 euros.

15. The Vatican officially recognized that the Earth revolves around the Sun only in 1992. John Paul II gave a speech in which he recognized Galileo as a brilliant physicist and expressed regret that the theologians who condemned the scientist adhered too literally to the text of Holy Scripture.

1. Although the Vatican is considered an enclave state (a state within another state), in fact it is just the location of the throne of the Pope (the Holy See), the papal court and its staff. The status of the Vatican in international law is a subsidiary sovereign territory of the Holy See.

3. The total length of the Vatican state border, passing only through the territory of Italy, is only 3.2 kilometers.

4. The Vatican is an absolute theocratic monarchy ruled by the Holy See. The sovereign of the Holy See, in whose hands the absolute legislative, executive and judicial powers are concentrated, is the Pope, elected by the cardinals for a life term.

6. The Vatican has as many as 4 types of armed forces: the Noble Guard, the Palatine (Palace) Guard, the Papal Gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard, and the latter is subordinate only to the Holy See.

9. The crime rate in the Vatican is incredibly high. For every resident of the country, there is at least one crime committed on the territory of the Vatican per year. In 2003, these statistics looked like this: 87.2% of the country's population commit civil offenses once a year, and 133.6% commit criminal offenses. In fact, these crimes are committed by tourists and employees working in the Vatican but living in Italy.

10. There are practically no marriages and no children born in the Vatican. Over the entire history of the Vatican, the number of marriages that took place on its territory is about 150.

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