Vatican City is a tiny independent country tucked entirely inside the Italian capital Rome. It covers just 0.49 square kilometres - small enough that you could walk around the whole nation in under an hour.
About 800 people are official citizens, mostly priests, nuns, and the famous Swiss Guards who protect the Pope. The country has its own flag, post office, radio station, train station, and even an ATM that gives instructions in Latin.
It became an independent country only in 1929, when Italy and the Pope signed an agreement to settle a 60-year dispute about who controlled the area. Today the Vatican is the heart of the Catholic Church and home to St. Peterβs Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.