Vatican City (IT-37250)

This is one of the best postcard surprises that I've received so far :) It was sent as an official card with Italian ID, but actually it's my first card from Vatican :) It shows the Saint Peter's Square with the St. Peter's Basilica and also a photo of the Pope Benedict XVI. Vatican is definitely a place worth visiting, with very interesting history and important to me, as I'm Christian. But, if ever have a chance to go Vatican, I wouldn't like to be there at the moment, where there are thousands of turists, like on some holidays. As I can see on this card, there are moments, when the Saint Peter's Square isn't very crowded, so there is some hope :)

IT-37250

And here are the Vatican stamps :) It's a really special feeling to have a card from Vatican, which was actually sent from the smallest country in the world :)


Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. At approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and with a population of around 900, it is the smallest country in the world by both population and area.

The Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929 and is thus clearly distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian. Official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the passports issued are very few.