Vatican City
Enclaved Holy See's independent city-stateVatican City, officially the Vatican City State, often shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign state and city-state. Ruled by the pope, it is an enclave within Rome and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church. Vatican City is governed by the See of Rome, commonly known as the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains its temporal power, governance, diplomacy, and spiritual independence. Vatican is also used as a metonym for the Holy See, which is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, comprising the pope and the Roman Curia. The independent state of Vatican City came into existence in 1929 via the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, which spoke of it as a new creation, not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756–1870), which had previously encompassed much of Central Italy.
- 1309The Avignon Papacy begins, with popes residing in Avignon, France.
- 1377The Avignon Papacy ends, and popes return to reside at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.
- 1583The work on the Quirinal Palace is completed under Pope Paul V.







