This first section is a brief explanation of my Italy blog posts, which were inspired by my 2-week trip to Italy in May, 2025. Feel free to skip this section if you’ve read it before.
Dear Reader, If you read my Italy posts in the order in which they’ve come out, it may seem as though we hopped back and forth all over the country, but I have decided not to write these posts sequentially. I want to write about the things that interest me most, as the spirit moves me. For some topics, I may even combine cities. I hope that by doing so, you’ll find it a lot more interesting than if I just give you a tedious day by day description of our itinerary, as if I were your Aunt Mabel forcing you to sit down and watch all her Super 8 films of the family road trip to Niagara Falls from 1966.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about how I’m approaching this travelogue-within-a-blog, please let me know in the comments below!
I have always been drawn to weirdness, but I’m particularly fascinated by geopolitical weirdness. I’ve been to Andorra, a tiny little country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France, known for its duty-free shopping, ski resorts, stamps, and tax-haven status, which most people have never heard of. It’s not a member of the EU, but it is treated as such for trade and manufactured goods only, and is allowed to coin its own Euros.
Of course I’ve also been to Washington, DC, one of a startling number of American places that experiences taxation without representation. It has no federal voting representation in congress. (That must make it twice as enraging when the National Guard can be imposed on them against their will.)
Of the (at least 8) micronations that are currently declared within the United States, I’ve only been to the Conch Republic. It started in Key West in 1982 due, ironically enough, to the local’s frustration regarding a border patrol checkpoint that was placed on the only road into Key West, which was not only looking for illegal immigrants, but also for illegal drugs. The car searches were impacting tourism. The republic’s borders have fluctuated over time, sometimes including parts of mainland Florida, but its capital has always been Key West. (If you want a giggle, read about the Invasions of 1995.)
You can find micronations all over the world. They are mainly created out of political protest, experimentation, artistic expression, entertainment, and in some cases, criminal activity. In my opinion, the one that gets the prize for the most creative name is the United Territories of the Sovereign Nation of the People’s Republic of Slowjamastan.
There are also disputed territories, territories that have unilaterally declared themselves independent, unclaimed territories, sovereign states, unrepresented nations and peoples, and sovereign entities of various kinds. It also matters if you’re a UN member state, a UN observer state, or a UN non-member state. Your clout is also based on whether you are recognized by a UN member state, only recognized by an observer state or a UN non-member state, or recognized by no state at all.
Before visiting Italy in May of 2025, I discovered that it had 5 different geopolitical weirdnesses within its borders. I managed to get us into two of them.
The first one, of course, is Vatican City. I’ll be blogging about this in more detail in another post, since we did visit it. For our purposes here, though, just know that it is a sovereign city-state, a theocratic elective monarchy ruled by the pope, and recognized as a national territory under international law. It has observer status in the UN.
The second is San Marino. It is the 5th smallest country in the world, and had I learned about it early enough, I probably would have squeezed it into our itinerary out of pure curiosity. Its land area is less than 24 square miles. Like Andorra, they are also allowed to create their own Euros, but they’re not a member of the EU. Every six months, their democratically elected legislature chooses two heads of state from opposing parties to serve together. (Either they’re masters of consensus or they’re perfectly content with nothing getting done.)
The third and fourth are unrecognized micronations which we didn’t get to visit. The Principality of Seborga takes up a little more than 5 square miles and claims it has been a sovereign state since 954 AD. It cooperates with Italian legal jurisdiction and most believe they are making their claim primarily to increase tourism.
The other micronation is the Principality of Filettino. It was created in 20ll by that town’s mayor to protest the Italian Government’s austerity measure that required all towns with less than 1,000 residents to merge with other nearby towns. That measure would mean that all their services, such as firemen and post offices, would be much further away.
But the fifth Italian geopolitical oddity is like nothing else in the entire world. It is a sovereign non-state entity, as it claims neither statehood nor territory. It has existed since 1113. It has been recognized by, and has full diplomatic relations with, 113 UN member states as a sovereign subject of international law. It is an observer entity in the UN. Dear Reader, allow me to introduce the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta.
That, my friends, is a mouthful, so I’m grateful that they go by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for short. Even shorter, they are often referred to as “SMOM”. So SMOM it is, then. Here are just a few fun facts about this odd place:
- The passports they issue expire after the particular mission the person is on comes to an end.
- There are generally no more than 500 SMOM passports at any given time.
- There are only 3 diplomatic passports.
- They also issue license plates, but again, these are as rare as hen’s teeth.
- Despite “military” being in their name, they have taken no military action since 1798, but my goodness, they were troublemakers before that (more details below).
- Today, their primary focus is on humanitarian assistance around the globe.
- They have no territory at all in modern times, but they do have 3 buildings in Rome in which Italian law does not apply.
- They have the right to sign treaties, but heaven knows why they would need to.
- They have no defined population.
I learned about the Order of Malta like I learn about a lot of the quirky places I visit: by checking out the Atlas Obscura website. Palazzo Malta, their headquarters, is not far from the Spanish Steps in Rome, on the Via dei Condotti, which is known for its luxury shops such as Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Hermes, and Cartier. In fact, the palace rents out space to such vendors, probably to help defray costs.
Just walking down that street made me feel out of place, but then knowing we were headed to a palace made it even more nerve-wracking. Our purpose was to get a unique stamp in our passports, and perhaps get some stamps, postcards and coins while we were at it. As with most small, er… entities, they make a bit of money off these items because people like to buy them as souvenirs.
Shoppers probably walk past the palace all the time without giving it much notice. As palaces go, it’s rather unassuming, although I’m fairly certain I couldn’t even afford to buy the hood ornaments on some of the cars parked in their lot. And the hoi polloi are not allowed in the front door. Heaven’s no. Actually, that’s understandable, because the order’s Prince and 81st Grand Master, currently a Canadian guy by the name of John Dunlap, lives on the top floor. (It’s weird to think that someone with that title, who is addressed as “his most imminent highness”, and sits on a throne for most ceremonies, is actually elected. He wasn’t there on the day we stopped by, though, because his coat of arms flag was not displayed on the central flagpole above the door. Just as with the King of England, that’s how you can tell he’s home.)
We, like servants, had to go around to the less opulent side door to gain entry. The very pleasant guard there looked like he couldn’t wrestle my grandmother to the ground, and she’s been dead for 52 years, but I suppose it’s the thought that counts. He seemed really surprised to see us. Surprised and confused. He pointed us to the stairway that leads up to the post office. We passed several doors with signs that led us to believe that members of SMOM have a very nice health plan. When we got to the post office, it was a little closet-sized room and the guy with tousled hair was wearing a jean jacket, but he was quite charming.
When we asked about a passport stamp, he almost laughed. Apparently, SMOM does not have such a thing. Bummer. But they do have some really cool stamps and postcards. It turns out that to use the stamps, you have to mail the postcards from the building. And the stamps only work with countries that recognize SMOM’s sovereignty. Apparently the US does not. So, we have stamps, anyway. Somewhere.
Next, we asked about coins, and he got a bit of a panicked look on his face and had to run down the hall, and after some delay a lady came out to show us what was available. The coins were beautiful, and unique, and probably a good investment, but the cheapest ones were 80 Euros, and there was even one gold coin that went for about 1,300 Euros. We had to pick our jaws up off the floor in order to politely decline.
That, I suspect, was the most excitement that they had all day, because when we walked past the palace a little while later, we spotted the post office guy standing outside on the sidewalk, talking on his cell phone. It wasn’t lunch time, mind you. But it’s rather easy to spot a tourist coming in that door. I don’t see him looking forward to bolting up the stairs, but I suspect that doesn’t happen often, anyway.
Now let me explain why the Order of Malta exists in the first place.
The order was founded in Jerusalem around 1048, when a group of merchants from Amalfi started a hospital and monastery in Jerusalem and dedicated it to Saint John the Baptist. (In fact, the order’s flag is actually the Amalfi flag, only with a red background instead of a blue one.) At the time, the monks who ran the hospital were called the Hospitaller. Its motto was, and still is, “Defense of the faith and assistance to the poor”. After caring for poor and injured pilgrims all through the first crusade, they rose in prominence and were finally recognized as a distant order by the pope. Then they called themselves the Order of Saint John.
The order became militarized in the 1120’s and 30’s as they began providing armed escorts to pilgrims and more security for their hospitals by hiring knights. Those knights later became secular Hospitallers. Now called the Knights Hospitallers, the organization turned into a military religious order whose mission was the care and defense of the Holy Land. They were provided with more and more castles in order to defend Jerusalem and Syria. They even had control of Tripoli for a few decades.
They were defending quite a bit of real estate. By 1200, the order had divided into 3 classes: the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, each group sticking to their role. Their headquarters remained in Jerusalem until that kingdom was lost by the Christians in 1291.
They relocated to Kolossi Castle in Cyprus in 1302, but they were getting too tangled up in that kingdom’s politics, and knew they needed their own domain, so in 1306 they began their bloody Conquest of Rhodes. The island surrendered to them in 1310. Then, the pope dissolved their only rival order, the Knights Templar, and the Knights Hospitaller were given most of the Templar property.
At this point. The Knights Hospitaller were called the Knights of Rhodes. I went to Rhodes in 2009 and have visited their castle. (Forgive the photo quality, but you know, it was 2009, and I didn’t have a cell phone camera.) It’s quite impressive. I had assumed they were Knights Templar at the time, and didn’t make the connection until I started researching this post.
During this period, they became more militarized, as the island was invaded more than once. They also harassed the pirates in this area. They finally lost Rhodes in 1522, when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent invaded with about 150,000 troops. The 7,000 knights that were present did manage to hold them off for 6 months. The survivors were allowed to withdraw to Sicily.
Seeking a home for the knights, the pope came to an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor. If the emperor gave them Malta and another nearby island, as well as Tripoli, in perpetual fiefdom, the knights would oversee the property in exchange for permanent quarters. To sweeten the deal, the emperor would be gifted a falcon from the island each year. The Maltese Falcon (and here you thought it was just a book/movie).
During this time, the knights, now often known as the Knights of Malta, still remained very militaristic, fighting Muslims, Ottomans and pirates alike. During the Great Siege of Malta, in 1565, which lasted 4 months, 700 knights and 8,000 soldiers held off 40,000 Ottomans before the Ottomans finally gave up. At the end, there were 15,000 Ottomans left, and only 600 Hospitallers, and yet they won.
With diminishing knights, funds, and sense of purpose after the end of the crusades, the knights focused on making the Mediterranean safe from pirates and freeing Christian slaves. But as they became more financially desperate, some knights began raiding Muslim ships. And then later, any ships at all. That meant that they lost the support of European governments. That’s when things really started to unravel.
The Protestant Reformation meant that more and more knights seeking less corruption and debauchery were forming splinter groups, and a significantly reduced Order of Malta finally had to leave Malta when Napoleon captured it in 1798. (Incidentally, the 4 protestant splinter groups still exist to this day in England, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden, but none of them have the sovereignty, diplomats, UN observers and all the other hoo-ha that SMOM has.)
The Russian Emperor gave the knights refuge in Saint Petersburg in 1799. More splintering occurred, and in 1834, our group settled in Rome. They focused, once again, on hospital work, and finally obtained the alphabet soup name they go by to this day. They played a vital role in caring for the sick in World Wars I and II.
Today, according to Wikipedia, the order “has a permanent presence in 120 countries, with 12 Grand Priories and Sub-Priories and 48 national Associations, as well as numerous hospitals, medical centers, daycare centers, first aid corps, and specialist foundations, which operate in 120 countries. Its 13,500 members and 95,000 volunteers and over 52,000 medical personnel – doctors, nurses and paramedics – are dedicated to the care of the poor, the sick, the elderly, the disabled, the homeless, terminal patients, lepers, and all those who suffer. The Order is especially involved in helping victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters by providing medical assistance, caring for refugees, and distributing medicines and basic equipment for survival.”
“The Sovereign Military Order of Malta established a mission in Malta, after signing an agreement with the Maltese Government which granted the Order the exclusive use of Fort St. Angelo for a term of 99 years. Today, after restoration, the Fort hosts historical and cultural activities related to the Order of Malta.”
Fort St. Angelo was originally built by the knights in the 1530’s, so it’s fitting that it is now their cultural center. It also happens to be another one of their sovereign buildings, where Maltese law is suspended. However they can’t grant asylum.
Even though they are still a religious military order, and still have uniforms, they have not seen military action in quite some time. Their focus is caring for the poor. And they’re still knights. It’s possible that this order survived after so many other chivalric orders died out because they did have a strong medical purpose, so they didn’t become quite so adrift as the other orders did after the crusades ended.
Not just anyone can join the Order of Malta. They are divided into 3 classes. The first class are Knights of Justice, Knights and Chaplains that follow poverty, chastity and obedience. The second class are various Knights and Dames that vow obedience and commitment to Christian principles. The third class are lay members who don’t profess religious vows, but live according to Christian principles. They are Knights, Dames, and Magistral Chaplains, and Donat(or)s of Devotion.
You have to be invited to become a member by other members. Traditionally, you also had to be a member of the nobility, but their website claims that members now come from all classes. You must be a Catholic in good standing, serve a year of mentorship, and must achieve distinction in your field (Doctors, Lawyers, and Architects were used as examples, which, to me, suggests a bit of a wrench in the works of the “all classes” claim. I mean, it’s possible, but…). I will say that from looking at hundreds of their photos, there are very few members of color, and all the top leaders are white males. Since “dames” aren’t even mentioned in the description of their first class, I’m thinking no woman will ever be at the helm of this group. As for the elite, most of them look like they’ve never worn a pair of jeans in their lives. With such a widespread global presence, in order to carry out their good works, they are therefore sitting on a lot of money. They raise about 69 million a year, and a good part of that comes from member dues (another barrier for the “all classes” concept).
Aside from the palace we visited in Rome, they have two other properties in the city over which they are sovereign.
One you rarely hear about on any website. It’s the Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi (House of the Knights of Rhodes), and if you walk past it (which we did without even realizing it), you’d swear it was one of the many ancient Roman ruins downtown. It overlooks the Forum of Augustus. The original was built in the 1400’s by the Hospitallers, and after a restoration in the 1940’s and 50’s, it was assigned to the Order of Malta. The only way to see inside is by joining a private Saturday morning tour.
After learning about this building during this research, I took a look at our photos of the Forum of Augustus and discovered that we took a couple very good photos of this building by pure coincidence. It’s the building on the right of both photos, with the arches on the topmost floor, lit up by white light. We walked so close to it at one point that I could have reached out and touched it. No regrets, though, because we weren’t in Rome on a Saturday morning so couldn’t have entered.
But the regret I do have (the kind of regret I try to avoid by doing thorough travel research in advance), is the third building, which is the Magistral Villa which serves as SMOM’s embassy. Also called the Villa del Priorato di Malta, it’s on Aventine Hill. You can’t enter the villa, but you can tour its church and the amazing gardens on Friday mornings. But again, we weren’t in Rome on that day.
What I’m kicking myself about is the Aventine Keyhole. We discussed going there before we knew the Order of Malta’s connection, and decided we didn’t have time. Had I known the connection, I’d have tried to make time.
The keyhole is in a door, of course, and that door leads to the private gardens of the church that is on the grounds of the Magistral Villa. The keyhole is accessible 7 days a week, but expect a long line. A keyhole, by its very nature, can only be seen by one person at a time. It’s free.
If you look through it, you see straight down a tree-lined promenade, and the trees perfectly frame a rather famous view of St. Peter’s Basilica. The picture is really hard to capture without a professional camera setup, but if you manage to do so, you’re taking a picture that covers three sovereign realms at once: The territory of the Order of Malta, Italy, and Vatican City.
This property was passed to the Order of Malta from the Knights Templar after the destruction of their order. It was given sovereign status in 1869. The order conducts its ceremonies at the villa, hosts dignitaries, and has enjoyed visits from the pope there.
The elitism of this organization, and its unique power, kind of makes me uncomfortable. It’s fascinating how a group that amounted to glorified pirates during the middle ages have been able to wrap themselves in a cloak of chivalry, philanthropy, and religion and come out so far on top as to be in a class by themselves. I do appreciate that they do good work, but it’s weird that they have an equal place at the diplomatic table, right along with diplomats of countries, when their population is 0 and their post office is the size of a closet.
It should be a religious charity. But having diplomatic privileges does allow them unprecedented access. For example, they were able to aid the Rohingya people in Myanmar long before most other organizations could. So there’s that.
Regardless of my mixed emotions, it would be nice if I could say that now they are living happily ever after, but this order consists, after all, of a group of human beings, so naturally, they have divided into factions. It seems that it kicked off with a scandal in which one person was fired and then reinstated after being falsely accused of (gasp!) distributing birth control in a third world country.
One side (primarily “the Germans”) thinks the secular portion of the group should have more power and it should become an NGO, and the other side feels that the religious portion should have total control. After 5 years of debate over the reform process, finally Pope Francis stepped in and made some changes. And boy, did he make changes.
The pope eliminated the requirement that top posts have noble lineage. He also removed the tradition that grand masters be elected for life. Instead, they will be allowed to stay on for up to two 10-year terms. But the pope reminded them that their motto was about defending the faith and serving the poor. He encouraged them not to limit themselves to “helping the needs of the poor, but announcing to them the love of God with words and testimony.”
The order’s new constitution gives the pope a lot more power over the order than he once had. They have less autonomy than in years past. It used to be that they elected their grand master, and then let the pope know who it was. Now the pope must approve their choice. And there are no more vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but they are expected to strive for religious perfection, and conform their lives to the spirit of the gospel. And now, the grand master oversees all the financials of all the associations in the 120 countries where they have a presence. It seems that there is a shift of responsibility from the laity to the religious. (Who could have predicted that, given that the final decision rested with the pope?)
While these reforms led to such changes as the election of the first Maltese to the top ranks of the Order (it’s about time), it also calls the order’s sovereignty into question. If they are under the total authority of the pope, why would other countries bother to have diplomatic relations with them when they already have diplomatic relations with the Holy See? Wouldn’t that be redundant?
The order has been accused of corruption. This may or may not be true, but if the pope believed it, that may be why he felt the need to intervene. That would make sense. Otherwise, why mess with a sovereignty that seems to have worked so well for so long?
The fear is that many of the associations will separate themselves from the order so that they can maintain their autonomy and continue their charitable work without being treated like a religious organization. (Things fall apart. The center does not hold. It’s just that some things fall apart more quickly than others. )
Had I known about all this stuff beforehand, I might have felt a lot more intimidated about going into that palace in Rome. Not that I think that they would have done me any harm, of course. It’s just that I would have expected to be judged, and I might just have been a bit judgy myself. Hard to say. Instead, I went in with an open mind and a healthy curiosity, got some stamps (which we seem to have lost), and giggled at their little post office. Overall, a delightful experience.
Additional Sources:
Wikipedia—Principality of Seborga
Wikipedia—List of states with limited recognition
Sovereign Military Order of Malta Travel Guide
The Order of Malta: The Stateless State That Isn’t Quite a State
After the Death of Its Grand Master, Tensions Resurface in the Order of Malta
Watch: How does the Pope’s reform change things for the Knights of Malta?
The Order of Malta Faces Severe Changes
How did Pope Francis change the Order of Malta?‘
Our future is in danger’: 1,000-year-old Order of Malta in turmoil amid crunch talks
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