Papal States

State of the Church Stato della Chiesa Status Ecclesiasticus 754–1870 Interregna (1798–1799, 1809–1814 and 1849) Flag (1825–1849, 1849–1870) Coat of arms until 19th century Anthem:  Noi vogliam Dio, Vergine Maria (1815–1857) (Italian) "We want God, Virgin Mary" Gran Marcia trionfale (1857–1870) (Italian) "Great Triumphal March" The Papal States in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars Map of the Papal States (green) in 1700, including its exclaves of Benevento and Pontecorvo in Southern Italy, and the Comtat Venaissin and Avignon in Southern France. Capital Rome Common languages Latin, Italian, Occitan Religion Roman Catholic Government Theocratic absolute elective monarchy Pope   • 754–757 Stephen II (first) • 1846–1870 Pius IX (last) Cardinal Secretary of State   • 1551–1555 Girolamo Dandini (first) • 1848–1870 Giacomo Antonelli (last) Prime Minister   • 1848 Gabriele Ferretti (first) • 1848 Giuseppe Galletti (last) History   • Establishment 754 • Codification 781 • Treaty of Venice (independence from the Holy Roman Empire) 1177 • 1st disestablishment February 15, 1798 • Schönbrunn Palace Declarations May 17, 1809 • 2nd disestablishment September 20, 1870 • Vatican City February 11, 1929 Population • 1853 3,124,668 Currency Papal States scudo (until 1866) Papal States lira (1866–1870) Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire Roman Republic (18th century) First French Empire Roman Republic (19th century) Roman Republic (18th century) First French Empire Roman Republic (19th century) Kingdom of Italy Prisoner in the Vatican Today part of France Italy Vatican City

The Papal States, officially the State of the Church (Italian: Stato della Chiesa, Italian pronunciation: [ˈstato della ˈkjɛːza]; Latin: Status Ecclesiasticus; also Dicio Pontificia), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the Pope, from the 8th century until 1870.

By 1861, much of the Papal States' territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the Pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, except the Vatican.

Related pages

• History of Rome
• Donation of Constantine
• Italian unification

Other websites

• Papal States Coinage
• WorldStatesmen: Italy
• WHKMLA Historical atlas: here the page offering numerous links to maps of/containing Italy