Rome, the Eternal City.
PHOTO BY CALEB MILLER/UNSPLASH
1 Day, 3 Countries The Italian capital is home to two microstates
By Tim Johnson
O
n any given day, thousands of tourists—and probably most of the locals—in Rome walk right by this place, unaware that there’s a sovereign country just inside. Only able to find scant bits of information on the internet and a location on Google Maps, I walked slowly, seeking out the correct entrance. And then, there it was, a little alcove sandwiched between a Hermes and a Jimmy Choo, two red flags hanging over the front. At first, I was happy to just peer inside the courtyard, blocked by a gate and take a selfie with the golden plaque on the door, adorned with an unfamiliar coat of arms and an inscription. It reads, in Italian: Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero Di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme Di Rodi E Di Malta. And: Palazzo Magistrale-Sede Extraterritoriale. There was also a small mail slot (Telegrammi In Buca, it reads).
58 I N S I G H T May 13–19, 2022
And most tempting—a bell. No invitations to ring it, but no prohibitions, either. Slowly and a little nervously, I reached out and pushed the button. To my complete surprise, the gate swung open. On the other side, sovereign territory, a landless country, was almost wholly contained there, in the heart of one of the world’s most celebrated cities. When you come to Rome, you can visit three countries in one day. Once the capital of the vast and almost unimaginably powerful Roman Empire, it remains the capital city of the modern nation-state of Italy. But while you won’t find any stern-faced border guards or passport checkpoints, Rome is also home to two microstates. And while the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta is obscure, the other one is the religious heart of billions of Catholics around the world. Entering Vatican City simply involves walking through one of three gates open to the public, passing through the Medieval and Renaissance
VIRGINIA ITALY
Rome Sardinia
Sicily
Rome is wellconnected by both an extensive bus network and a limited, threeline metro.
