Did you know that Vatican City 🇻🇦 is the smallest country in the world, even smaller than some shopping malls 🏬? Yet, it holds massive influence over more than a billion Catholics ✝️ worldwide! But why does the Vatican exist as an independent nation, separate from Italy 🇮🇹 Centuries ago, the Vatican was part of the powerful Papal States 🏰, which controlled vast territories in central Italy under the Pope’s rule 👑 However, during the unification of Italy in the 19th century, these lands were annexed 📜 and Rome became the capital 🏛️ The Pope refused to recognize the new government and declared himself the ""Prisoner of the Vatican"" ⛓️, isolating himself behind its walls. For 60 years, five Popes resisted, and Italy dared not invade, fearing international backlash. Finally, in 1929, Benito Mussolini 🇮🇹 struck a deal with the Pope the Lateran Treaty ✍️ which officially granted Vatican City its sovereignty. And that's how the world's tiniest country 🌍 came to be!

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