It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. The name for the state derived from an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum, which was located in the area the Romans called Ager Vaticanus – “Vatican territory.” Yet, since the state doesn’t have its own language, its legislation and official communications use Italian.  Despite being the smallest state in the world, the Vatican has its own football team. The team is made up of employees of the Vatican, like police officers, postal workers, and even the members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which is kind of like the state’s army, and it protects the Pope.  On the other hand, back in the first century, a poet named Martial declared that the area around the Vatican produced some of the worst wines. We guess that they must have improved their wine recipes to become the state that consumes this drink the most since then. Another intriguing thing about the Vatican is that it contains a lot of religious and cultural sites, architecture, and artifacts. In fact, the Vatican is the only state that is in its entirety in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites. Also, a very famous Vatican cultural site is the Sistine Chapel, and its ceiling, which took 4 years for Michelangelo to paint, is deemed one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization.  Besides these and some other famous cultural sites, within its walls, the Vatican holds many valuable treasures. Many examples can be seen in today’s list. For example, one of the rarest documents in history – a papal letter of Martin Luther’s excommunication. It also holds Emperor Nero’s 2000-year-old bathtub and other stuff that, in a way, can be viewed as artifacts that mark humanity’s rollercoaster of history.  So, take a look at these artifacts, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that you found the most captivating! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.

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