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The Lateran Treaty creates Vatican City

1929 · Rome (Rome, Italy)

On 11 February 1929 Pius XI's representatives and the Italian government sign the Lateran Treaty in the Lateran Palace. Italy recognizes the sovereignty of the Holy See over the new Vatican City State; the Holy See recognizes the Kingdom of Italy with Rome as its capital. The Roman Question of 1870 is settled, and the papacy's temporal independence is restored in miniature.

Tagged: Catholic

The Event

Date
1929 (exact)
Era
The Modern and Global Church; Standard periodization of Catholic history
Location
Rome; today Rome, Italy
Traditions
Catholicism
Streams
Catholic
Key figures
Pius XI, Benito Mussolini
Key texts
Lateran Treaty

Connections

Illustration for Rome is taken and the Papal States end History Event Rome is taken and the Papal States end 1870 settles the Roman Question the fall of Rome opened

Primary Sources

  • The Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy, 1929.

Secondary Sources

  • Chadwick, Owen. A History of the Popes, 1830-1914. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.
  • Duffy, Eamon. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.
  • Hastings, Adrian, ed. A World History of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
  • MacCulloch, Diarmaid. A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. London: Penguin, 2009.
  • O'Malley, John W. Trent: What Happened at the Council. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013.

Provenance: HIST-1343; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.

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