991220 travellers read
The Vatican’s history as the seat of the Catholic Church began with the construction of a basilica over St Peter’s grave in Rome in the 4th century AD.
The Pope once ruled the Papal States, which included most of Italy. Catholic popes tried to stop Italy from becoming a single country because they feared losing control of at least one of the Papal States. In 1861, Italy was unified under the King of Savoy, but Rome and Latium remained unconquered. On 20 September 1870, Italian troops invaded and Rome became the capital of the new kingdom. In 1929, Benito Mussolini signed an agreement with the Holy See, known as the Lateran Treaty, which established the Vatican State.
