The Vatican City, also known as the Vatican, is located on a high ground at the northwest corner of Rome, Italy. With a land area of only 0.44 square kilometers, it is the smallest country in the world.
Despite its small size and lack of industry, agriculture, or natural resources, Vatican City earns considerable revenue through tourism, postage stamps, property rentals, bank interests from special funds, and donations from believers.
It's often described as immensely wealthy, boasting billions of dollars in foreign reserves and investments worth billions more in North America and Europe.
The current pope is Pope Francis.
Besides its immense wealth, the Vatican also holds a significant intelligence apparatus.
In the past, the Vatican had considerable influence on political matters.
In the 1948 Italian elections, leftist parties were initially poised to win 51% of the vote. However, the United States intervened with substantial financial aid, coupled with the Pope's urging for voters to support the right-wing Catholic Democratic Party.
Consequently, the Catholic Democratic Party won with 47.9% of the vote.
Despite the Pope's influential role, the Vatican retains only a small territory.
This is mainly because historically, the papacy had broader territories, but over time, due to various reasons, the Papal States gradually diminished.
Historically, there were three powers in the Italian lands: the Byzantine Empire, the Lombard Kingdom, and the Papacy.
While the soft power of the papacy was strong, its hard power was weakest, constantly threatened by the Lombard Kingdom.
During a time when Pepin III of the Frankish Kingdom attempted to usurp the throne, the Pope, in order to secure his position, acknowledged Pepin III's legitimacy.
In return, Pepin III gifted a portion of central and northern Italy to the Pope as a token of recognition.
This event is famously known as the "Donation of Pepin," which resulted in the Pope gaining around 17,000 square kilometers of land, establishing the Papal States.
For the next millennium, secular and religious powers in Europe were closely intertwined.
At times, the power of the Pope surpassed that of kings and princes.
However, due to the nature of the Papal States, it couldn't expand its territories through aggression.
Yet, with the rise of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and bourgeois revolutions, the power of the Catholic Church was undermined.
In 1796, Napoleon marched into northern Italy, leading to the occupation of parts of the Papal States by French forces.
In the early 1800s, Italy became once again a target of great powers, sparking nationalist sentiments and uprisings across the country.
Ultimately, Italy was unified into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
During this process, the territory of the Vatican was affected, but due to the Lateran Treaty, the Italian government pledged not to infringe upon Vatican territory.
To date, the Vatican has formal diplomatic relations with 183 countries, but it's the "Holy See" that establishes diplomatic relations with other countries, not the Vatican itself.
Despite having limited armed forces, the Vatican cannot be invaded by any country other than Italy due to agreements signed.
Italy also benefits from its cooperation with the Vatican, as pilgrims and tourists to the Vatican bring significant economic benefits to Italy.
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