About Vatican
Covering only 0.44km2, Vatican City is a captivating city-state within Rome that draws pilgrims, art lovers, and history enthusiasts with its rich spiritual heritage and world-renowned masterpieces.
The World’s Smallest Country with No Prison
Vatican City is so compact you can walk around it in under an hour. Uniquely, it has no prison—only a few cells for pre-trial detention. Convicted individuals serve sentences in Italian prisons, with costs covered by the Vatican under the Lateran Treaty.
Citizenship by Service and the Pope’s Elite Guards
Vatican citizenship isn’t inherited but granted through service to the Holy See, like becoming a cardinal or Swiss Guard. The Pope is protected by 135 Swiss Guards, elite soldiers since 1506. Recruits must be Swiss, Catholic, male, aged 19–30, 5'8" or taller, with basic military training.
A Nation That’s a World Heritage Site
Listed by UNESCO in 1984, Vatican City is the only country entirely designated as a World Heritage Site. The listing includes the city itself and extraterritorial sites in Rome like St. Peter’s Basilica and Saint Mary Major. Despite its size, the Vatican has its own postal service, currency, and security force.
- It is home to the world’s shortest railway—just two 300m tracks and one station—used mainly for transporting goods, not passengers.
- It owns a state-of-the-art telescope atop Mount Graham in southeast Arizona, where the Vatican conducts astronomical research.
- Italian is Vatican City’s official language and common tongue, but Latin remains the Holy See’s official language—so much that the Vatican Bank’s ATM provides instructions in Latin.
Stay In The Know
© All rights reserved copyright 2025 | Licence Number: TA01376 | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use