Vatican City Facts

Vatican city - the place where the sun rises and sets past the dome of St. Peter's Basilica designed by the legend himself, the great Michelangelo. There are many such interesting facts about the Vatican city, that we will reveal here.

How Vatican City came into existence?

The most amazing fact about the Vatican city is that it is the smallest sovereign state in the world. Vatican City, in spite of being a part of Italy, strangely stands out as an independent state. It was not this way always; the Lateran treaty established the state after a long series of disputes with the Italian government, where the king gradually took over. But then the Lateran Treaty made Vatican City independent in 1929 and with that, the Roman Catholics earned a special place in Italy. A concordat was again signed in the year 1984 between the Holy See (Vatican City) and Rome and this time there were certain modifications and alterations that were done to the previous treaty signed. The modifications that were given were regarding Roman Catholicism being the state religion of Italy. Italy was given religious freedom, though the papal influence was quite strong and the American state established diplomatic relationship with the Vatican City, not to incite and invite its ire.

Interesting facts about Vatican City

• There is still monarchy in Vatican City and is ruled by whoever becomes the Bishop of Rome, that is the Pope who is elected.
• The economy of the place is dependent on the printing industry, production of coins, postage stamp and financial activities. It is absolutely non-commercial and the economy is largely supported by the annual tax collected from the Roman Catholic dioceses all over the world. The sale of coins and postage stamps of the Vatican City also reel in quite an amount of revenue. It is also a place for tourists.
• There is no agricultural activity in the state as such.
• The literacy percentage is hundred percent and the languages spoken by the people of the Vatican City are Latin, Italian, French and English.
• The ethnic groups that reside in the state are Italians, Swiss and many other nationalities from all over the world. There is not one nationality of which people reside there.
• The total land area of the state is approximately 0.44 square km and when compared in terms of land area it is only 0.7 times bigger than The Mall in Washington, DC.
• It is a landlocked country and does not have a coastline.
• There are no natural hazards to Vatican City.
• It is an urban area and the population of the place is approximately 932. The growth rate of population is approximately 1.15%.
• The form of government there is ecclesiastical and there are no administrative divisions per se.
• The living standard and income of a worker is not much, compared to that of an Italian worker.
• There are not many roadways; most of them are only streets and lanes.
• Railways can traverse a maximum of 0.86 km.
• The flag of Vatican City has two bands of yellow, which are vertical and white, in the center of which are the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter.
• The head of the state lives in The Lateran Place where the Lateran treaty was signed.
• Much before Christianity arrived the place was considered sacred and people were not allowed to stay here.
• It is a great cultural hub from earlier times and artists like Michelangelo, Boticelli and Bernini stayed here and enhanced the already rich culture of the Vatican City. There are museums and libraries that are of great intellectual and historical importance.
• Since it is a small state with a small population the crime rate is much higher than in Italy and approximately 90% of the cases remain unsolved.
• The transport and communication system of Vatican City is well-developed.