For Muslims it is Mecca, for Jews it is Jerusalem, and for Christians it is the Vatican City that they must visit at least once before they die.

This city is also the smallest sovereign country in the world, with an area of only half a square kilometre and a population that barely reaches 800 people.

Despite being almost minuscule, there is no shortage of interesting data from the Holy See. Here we are going to see a few curiosities about The Vatican that surely few people know.

20 curiosities about The Vatican

No matter how small this country is, there is no shortage of curiosities to be found, as well as some somewhat turbulent facts about its history.

1. World’s highest crime rate

Despite being one of the holiest places in all of Christendom, Vatican City is, coincidentally, the place with the highest crime rate in the world.

This is mainly due to the fact that is a tourist place and where there are innocent tourists taking pictures of everything they see there are also thieves .

St. Peter’s Square is a big focus for pickpockets and other thieves who have no qualms about stealing in a place as sacred as the Pope’s country.

2. Latin is their official language

Latin is not a dead language . Not only because it is still taught as an elective in many schools and there are people who speak it as fluently as any other Romance language. Latin is the official language of the Holy See.

The state’s website, ATMs, signs and documents are all written in Virgil’s language.

3. Vatican Bank and own currency

Banco Vaticano, like any other bank in the world, has its own ATMs.

Another interesting aspect of the Vatican economy is that the tiny country has even issued its own currency, the Vatican lira , whose value was directly linked to that of the old Italian lira.

However, this changed when Italy joined the Eurozone in 2002, adopting the euro as its currency, something that the Vatican City also did, even though it is not even part of the European Union.

4. Vatican Economy

The Vatican’s economy is not based on taxes, since there are none. The country’s wealth is sustained by donations from believers, in addition to the income from tourism that the city receives every year.

With the money raised in this way, the Holy See can afford the costs of the Pope’s travels, maintaining churches and schools, as well as covering the costs of cleaning and maintaining the works in its museums.

5. Swiss Guard

The “police” of this country is called the Swiss Guard, which is not Vatican. They are the Pope’s bodyguards, easily recognizable by their red, orange, blue and yellow uniforms .

Among the requirements to be part of this particular guard are to be between 19 and 30 years old, to be single and, naturally, to be devout Catholics. They are Swiss citizens who have received military training.

Once they have been chosen to protect the Pope, the Holy Father grants them a private audience where he gives them a blessing.

6. He who drinks does not sin

Another rather shocking fact, such as that related to the criminality of this small country, is that, despite its tiny population, in Vatican City people drink a lot .

According to research carried out by the Wine Institute, on average, a Vatican citizen consumes about 55 litres of wine per year.

This is because wine is the blood of Christ and this country is mainly made up of members of the Church who drink this drink in religious ceremonies.

However, it is possible that behind this great consumption of God’s blood on Earth is that, as the saying goes, he who drinks, sleeps, and therefore does not sin, a fundamental quality in every cure.

7. Exorcisms

Although exorcism is seen as a practice far removed in time and related to unorthodox circles, the truth is that in the Holy See there is a group of priests who specialize in this type of ritual .

These exorcists, of whom there are about 350, are authorized by the Holy Father, and are among the few who can carry out this type of practice without risking excommunication.

8. St. Peter’s Basilica is larger than an aircraft carrier

Many people have the misconception that, since Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, it is much smaller than a neighborhood and that there is hardly any room for people there.

This is not true. In fact, his most important building, St. Peter’s Basilica, is bigger than an aircraft carrier . This building is 193 meters long and almost 45 meters high.

9. Vatican Radio

In 1929, the then Pope, Pius XI, commissioned Guglielmo Marconi, known for his contribution to the creation of modern radio, to install a radio transmission system in the Vatican. The station, known as Vatican Radio, started broadcasting in 1931 and is still operating today .

Today it is possible to listen to it on the official website of the Vatican, and its main mission is to transmit the word of God to the whole world, which it does in up to 30 different languages.

10. Vatican Archives

The archives in Vatican City are shrouded in mystery; however, despite what many intriguing films may imply, many of these documents are publicly accessible .

In 1881 Pope Leo XIII allowed several scholars to visit the papal archives and today part of the private library is open to any visitor. In addition, some of these documents can be visited on the Vatican website.

11. Vatican Kitchen

Who said a small country wouldn’t have its own cuisine? In 2006, the Vatican published a book in which it presented several recipes from the Papal State.

12. Little inhabited, but very visited

The Vatican is, without a doubt, a country with a small population. In the 2011 census there were only 793 people living in this city , however, about 15 million people visit the country every year.

This means that every year some 18,915 times more foreigners than residents set foot in the Vatican.

13. Apostolic Penitentiary

The Apostolic Penitentiary is a somewhat murky Vatican body whose existence has been known for a relatively short time.

It came to light in 2009 and consists of a tribunal whose function is to judge those members of the Church who have committed any of the following sins :

  • Breaking the secret of confession.
  • Having had an abortion before it was ordered.
  • Desacralizing the Eucharist.
  • Trying to kill the Holy Pontiff.
  • Absolve a lover in confession.

14. Cute Cure Calendar

As if it were a fire station, every year the Vatican publishes a calendar whose protagonists are the most beautiful priests .

The most attractive parents in all of Christianity are part of an almanac that serves as a souvenir for visitors and, in this way, they get some money to keep the Christian faith alive as well as to maintain the State.

The calendars are sold for about 10 euros a piece and, although it is impossible to go out with any of the protagonists, since priests must be chaste, more than one (or one) can delight in observing their divine beauty.

15. Vatican nationality

Being born in the Vatican does not mean having the citizenship of this country. Vatican citizenship is granted by right and taken away according to need.

Those who have this nationality are a limited group of people, mainly the Pope, the Vatican ambassadors around the world and the rest of the religious who live in the City. When one stops being a Vatican ambassador or working in the Holy See, this nationality is revoked .

16. The Obelisk

In the middle of St. Peter’s Square there is a large obelisk, which points directly to heaven, representing the link between the Pope on Earth and God in Heaven .

This obelisk comes from Egypt, and was built in the ancient city of Heliopolis when the pharaohs still reigned in the African country. It measures 25.5 metres and was stolen by Caligula.

In the 16th century it was placed in the Vatican and it took more than a year to rise to its present state. At first, at its tip, a golden ball could be found, which was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar himself.

17. Soccer team

Football is played in every country in the world, and the Vatican was to be no exception, no matter how difficult it is to build a stadium for the game in the small country.

Vatican City has its own soccer team, composed mainly of Swiss guards and some members of the Vatican administration . It does not belong to FIFA, but it does take part in the occasional international match.

18. Marrying here is forever

Getting married in the Vatican is forever. This state does not contain any law that allows divorce , so getting married in the Holy See is truly an act of eternal love.

19. Not everything is done by the Pope

Surely many people will think that the Pope rules the Vatican absolutely; however, as small and easy as it may seem to control the country, the truth is that it needs certain subordinates.

The Pope is the highest authority, but in the Vatican there is a governor who is in charge of the tasks more proper to the executive power , that is, what a president and his council of ministers would do in any other country.

This governor, in fact, receives the title of President of the Governorate of Vatican City State and President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City, who is a cardinal elected by the Pope himself, usually of Italian origin.

20. It has not always been the Pope’s residence

Long before it was decided that Vatican City was to be the definitive seat of the Catholic Church, the popes lived in the Lateran Palace, which is just on the other side of Rome.

In 1309 the papal court moved to Avignon, France. Seven popes ruled there until the seat was changed again in 1377, this time to the Vatican, since the Lateran Palace had been destroyed.

Bibliographic references:

  • Vatican City (n.d.). Statto della cità del Vaticano. Vatican City. Retrieved from https://www.vaticanstate.va/it/.