3rd+Day+-+Vatican+City

VATICAN CITY, independent state, under the absolute authority of the pope, an enclave within Rome, Italy, with an area of 44 ha (109 acres). It was established in 1929 under terms of the Lateran Treaty, concluded by the Italian government and the papacy after many years of controversy. This treaty was superseded in 1984 by a new concordat, which, like its predecessor, recognized the full sovereignty of the Holy See within the state of Vatican City. For the history of the papal territories before 1929, see Papal States.