VATICAN

VATICAN

The Vatican City in Rome is not just the home of the pope, it is the smallest independent nation in the world at just 0.17 sq miles (0.44 sq km). At its heart lies a library of secret documents and artifacts. The Vatican Secret Archives are believed to contain 30 miles (48 km) of shelving. To access them, approved scholars must ask in advance for the precise document they wish to see, so  they must know in advance that such a document exists. This has fueled rumors about what documents might be hidden there.
ON GUARD

The Vatican’s Swiss Guard is the world’s smallest national army. The guards wear the same uniform they did when it was founded in 1506.
The military defence of the Vatican City is provided by Italy and its armed forces, given the fact that Vatican City is an enclave within the Italian Republic. Vatican City has no armed force of its own, the Swiss Guard being a corps responsible for the security of the Pope.The Corpo della Gendarmeria acts as a police force. Its full name is Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano (which means "Gendarmerie Corps of the Vatican City State"), although it is sometimes referred to as the Vigilanza, as a shortening of an earlier name. The Gendarmeria is responsible for public order, law enforcement, crowd and traffic control, and criminal investigations in Vatican City.
GOVERNANCE
The government of Vatican City has a unique structure. The Pope is the sovereign of the state. Legislative authority is vested in the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, a body of cardinals appointed by the Pope for five-year periods. Executive power is in the hands of the President of that commission, assisted by the General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service. Nevertheless, the pope has full and absolute executive, legislative and judicial power over Vatican City. He is currently the only absolute monarch in Europe.
CULTURE

Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St. Peter's Basilica, whose successive architects include Bramante, Michelangelo,Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgement by Michelangelo. Artists who decorated the interiors of the Vatican include Raphael and Fra Angelico.

The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state. Furthermore, it is the only site to date registered with the UNESCO as a centre containing monuments in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.