Top 10 Southern Europe facts

Belgrade. The name “Belgrade” translates to "white city". The city was given city rights by Romans in 2nd century, and was settled by Slavs in the 520s.

Islam . The Republic of Kosovo is a secular state. The majority of the inhabitants are of a Muslim heritage and practice a very mild form of Islam.

One. Vatican Railway consists of two 300-metre sets of rail tracks and two freight sidings. It is the shortest national railway system in the world, with only one station. Most railway traffic consists of inbound freight goods, although the railway has occasionally carried passengers, usually for symbolic or ceremonial reasons.

Italian and Latin . The Vatican Constitution has established no official language. However, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the Legge sulle fonti del diritto ("Law on the sources of law") of 7 June 1929, it promulgates its laws and regulations by publishing them in the Italian-language Supplemento per le leggi e disposizioni dello Stato della Città del Vaticano attached to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Croatia. Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The region was a part of Italy from 1919 to 1947. After the fascist takeover of Italy in 1922, the Italian government began a campaign of forced Italianization. In 1926, use of Slavic languages was banned, and Slavic family names were ordered to be changed to Italian.

Croatia. Dalmatia is a historical region on the shore of the Adriatic Sea. Its name is derived from the Roman province of Dalmatia, which was however much larger than modern Dalmatia.

Spain. Aragon is a region between Catalonia (with Barcelona) and Castile (with Madrid). The capital of Aragon is Zaragoza. The region has its own language - the Aragonese language, which is today spoken by a small minority of the population.

Greece. Attica is a small region, but it played an important role in the history of Greece and the world. Athens is located in Attica.

Milan. The four largest cities in Italy are Rome (2.7 million), Milan (1.3 million), Naples (1.0 million) and Turin (0.9 million).

Madrid. The largest cities in Spain are Madrid (3.3 million), Barcelona (1.6 million), Valencia (0.8 million) and Seville (0.7 million).