The Vatican City State was established in its current form as a sovereign nation with the signing of the Lateran Pacts on the 11th February 1929. This independent city-state, enclaved within Rome, is the smallest sovereign state in the world, both by population and by area. Here are ten things you may not know about it:
1 – In 1962, elephant bones were discovered under the Vatican. They were the bones of Hanno, the pet elephant of Pope Leo X. He died in 1516 after doctors, in an attempt to treat his constipation, inserted a gold-infused enema up its rectum.
2 – The ATM machines in Vatican City have default instructions in Latin. They are the only ATMs in the world with this feature.
3 – There is a giant replica of St. Peter’s Basilica in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, which took over €300 million and five years to build. Measuring in at 30,000 square metres of exterior area, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is the largest church in the world. When the Vatican first got wind of its copycat design, Pope John Paul II personally requested that the observatory crowning the dome be built slightly lower than the height of St. Peter’s dome. Côte d’Ivoire’s President, Houphouët-Boigny, complied, but then went ahead and topped his dome with a huge gold cross, earning it yet another title as the tallest church in Christendom. Houphouët-Boigny is also personally pictured beside Jesus in one stained-glass panel ascending to heaven.
4 – The Vatican’s postal services are considered to be amongst the best in the world, with more letters sent each year from its postcode than anywhere else in the world. Many Romans make the trip there to post their letters and documents from the Vatican’s post office rather than Italy’s far less reliable post services.
5 – Vatican City has the world’s shortest railway. It consists of two 300-meter tracks and one station: Città del Vaticano. It’s mostly used for importing goods and is kept for symbolic reasons, with no regular passenger trains.
6 – Its official website has been online since Christmas 1995. The site is housed on three main servers, called “Michael,” “Gabriel,” and “Raphael” after the archangels. The word angel literally means “messenger,” so the three tools for the Vatican’s outreach into cyberspace were named after God’s three main messengers.
7 – It owns its own astronomical research and educational institution: the Vatican Observatory. It is one of the world’s oldest astronomical research facilities and even owns a telescope in Arizona, USA. The Observatory was founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 “so that everyone might see clearly that the Church and her Pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible devotion”.
8 – Popes cannot donate organs after they die. Their body becomes property of the Vatican and must be buried intact. Up until 1903, popes’ organs were preserved as relics in the church of Saints Anastasio and Vincent at Trevi.
9 – Citizenship is not granted based on birth, but rather only to those who reside in the Vatican because of their work or office. Cardinals who reside in the Vatican City or in Rome, as well as diplomats of the Holy See, are also considered citizens. Citizenship terminates when the person stops working for Vatican City or the Holy See. Those who risk becoming stateless for that reason will automatically be given Italian citizenship.
10 – It is the only entire country designated as a UNESCO heritage site. It was added to the list in 1984 for its unique collection of artistic and architectural masterpieces.
