5. Vatican City

Vatican City or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population. The Pope is also the Head of State and Government of the Vatican City State.

The Basilica: The dome was designed by Michelangelo, who worked on the construction of the basilica beginning in 1547. By the end of his long life (he died at 89 in 1564), construction had reached the drum of the dome, which alternates highly prominent double columns with gabled windows. Then, Giacomo Della Porta, Michelangelo’s pupil, took over the direction of the work, raising the vault of the dome about 7 metres and completing it in 1590, in just 22 months, under the pontificate of Pope Sixtus V.



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