State Within a State
- 1 minToday was my last day in Rome and I didn’t want to go without seeing the famous Vatican City. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the Vatican is that it is completely independent from the rest of Italy yet it lies within Rome itself.
The moment you step through the line on the street and into Vatican territory, Vatican law is in effect not Italian.
The moment you break a Vatican law you are judged by a Vatican tribunal not an Italian one.
The moment you get a Vatican citizenship you pay close to no tax unlike what you pay under Italian law.
It is as fascinating as it is crazy. Definitely something that one must visit.
The Vatican museum itself is worth the journey since it contains artifacts from various epochs which are simply breathtaking. Naturally then you are lead into the Sistine Chapel which even though it’s spectacular, the constant prompts of security officers to keep quiet and not take photos, drops the experience a few levels.
Overall though a top experience.
Personal blog of Makis Otman