Vatican City
Vatican City,[g][h] officially the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano;[i] Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae),[j][k] often improperly shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign state[18][19] and city-state. It is an enclave within Rome, seat of the Catholic Church, and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church.[20][21] It became independent from the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. 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.[22]
