Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State, often improperly shortened as the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign state and city-state. It is an enclave within Rome, seat of the Catholic Church, and serves as the administrative centre of the Catholic Church. 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.