The smallest country in the world – the Vatican City State – is located at the very heart of the capital of Italy – Rome. The hill of Monte Vaticano is surrounded by a brick wall. The area of micro-state is only 0.44 km2. Every year, 18 million tourists travel there to visit St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, museums and other points of interest.

The Vatican City State was founded on February 11, 1929 as a result of a pact between the Roman-catholic church and Italy. The only and absolute ruler of the Vatican is the Pope, who is appointed for life, TravelNews reports.

Since 1506, the Pope’s personal security is assured by the smallest and oldest armies in the world – the Swiss Guard, consisting of 110 officers dressed in bright blue-red-yellow uniform.

Since 1984, the Vatican has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage list. 932 people reside in the Vatican.

ATMs in the Vatican are programmed in Latin.

The Vatican has its own postal stamps and Euro coins. Circulation of these coins is so small that they are a true treasure for collectors. Numismatists are ready to pay up to 200 EUR for some Vatican coins.

All civil servants in the Vatican take a solemn vow of silence on the Bible in Latin, according to which they are forbidden from revealing confidential information.

There are around 3 000 employees in the Vatican, however most of them live outside the city limits, and therefore are not considered to be residents of the country.

The Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum – a collection of Vatican’s documents compiled since the middle ages and to modern days. The archive is “secret” because it is a private archive of the Pope and access to it is restricted.

The Vatican is not part of FIFA, but the country has its own football league consisting of 16 teams with representatives of the Swiss Guard, the Popes advisers and keepers of museums.

Since January 23, 2009, broadcasts of services of Pope Pope Benedict XVI can be viewed on the internet on the Pope’s YouTube channel. As a joke, this channel is often called PopeTube.

The Vatican is very high crime rate. However, all these crimes are committed by hired staff, and visitors from other states or Italians themselves.