The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (S.M.O.M), has the distinction of being the worlds smallest country. While some legal experts doubt its true sovereignty, it does have a small parcel of land (a little over an acre if I remember correctly), and issues its own passports, postage stamps, currency and license plates. I believe the quandary comes from the fact that while the country has citizens, it has no full time residents. Legal semantics aside, visiting the ‘country’ was cool. It is in Rome, and overlooks the Vatican. Here is a short history of the organization behind the parcel of land that may or may not legally sovereign: In 600, Abbot Probus was commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to build a hospital in Jerusalem to treat
... read more
