The power of the place is inescapable -- and a long way from its humble origins as a graveyard.

For nearly 2,000 years, its story has captured the imagination of millions. From here a religious faith grew to dominate the western world -- crusades were launched, great inquisitions were convened, governments were made and broken. It is an accumulation of remarkable buildings and art; it is the smallest sovereign nation, and yet one of the most powerful. If it had a gross national product it would be measured not in money, but in souls.

Its leader is Europe's last absolute monarch, but a man who is elected by his peers, a man who carries one of the most awesome burdens borne by any leader -- the spiritual care of more than one billion people.

It is the seat of power of one of the oldest continually running organizations on the planet. Once the fulcrum of power, it wields it yet. It is where saints are proclaimed, where popes reign, where much of Western history can find its source.

It is a divinely inspired, human invention known as the Vatican.