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| Readying the Saint Peter's Square for the believers. (Photo by: Argenberg) |
Vatican is an unusual place: both by size and population it's the smallest country in the world, yet its influence far surpasses its meager size and its tiny economy. As the principal caretaker of the souls of 1.2 billion Catholics spread over all six continents, Vatican's monarch - the Pope - exercises a considerable influence on global politics since his (it is always a he) attitudes towards issues such as abortion, gay rights and religious tolerance serve as relevant guidelines for the policy makers of many European, American and African countries. Another prominent peculiarity of this microstate includes the fact that Vatican is the only absolute monarchy in Europe. Other examples of absolute monarchy still in existence today include: Swaziland, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Modern day Vatican came into being in the 20th century as a much diminished successor the Papal States. Until the unification of Italy in the late 19th century, Popes ruled (not only spiritually) large chunks of central and northern Italy, but once the rising tide of the Italian nationalism swept the Apennine Peninsula, the leadership of the Catholic Church found itself confined to the palaces and gardens behind the Saint Peter's Square in central Rome. But precisely due to its specific location and the limited size, Vatican today has the highest concentration of art treasure per square kilometre in the world. With their unsurpassable historic and artistic value St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are a must-see for all visitor to Rome - anarchists and atheists included.
