Until 1929, it was a part of Italy.
The country has a land area of about 0.44 square kilometres. It has 825 inhabitants.
Travelling throughout an entire nation while on a single vacation seems nearly unachievable. There are many different areas, provinces and cities to explore, which offer a variety of sights and sounds. You cannot take in all that a country has to offer in a single vacation, let alone a single day. The longest train journey in the world is the distance between the two borders of Russia, the largest country in the world. And it takes a total of 7 days. On the other side of the spectrum, some nations can be explored in just hours. For instance, Vatican City, the second smallest country in the world, can be fully explored in just over an hour or so.
Vatican City is even smaller than Central Park in New York City, with a land area of about 0.44 square kilometres. It has 825 inhabitants and is home to the Roman Catholic Church’s spiritual leader, the Pope. It is bordered by Italy on all sides and is like a papal enclave. Hence much of the nation’s culture is the same as that of Italy.
It also houses St.Peter’s Basilica, a church built in the Renaissance style. Around it, there is a government building, a museum, two education institutes, some houses and some shops. That is all there is to the nation of Vatican City.
The centre of Christendom, the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle and the home of the Supreme Pontiff are all contained within a small place. Exploring the church as well as the entire enclaved nation takes just a little more than an hour. It is interesting to note that Vatican City does not have a prison and all criminals are instead sent to Italian jails. Also, Vatican officials do not protect the Pope, the responsibility instead lies with the Pontifical Swiss Guard.
Until 1929, Vatican City was a part of Italy before gaining independence and becoming a sovereign nation of its own.
It is sometimes wrongly claimed that Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. Despite its minuscule size, there is another nation smaller than it and it is Sealand, located at a distance of 10 kilometres from England and having a population of only 27.
