Today in History · February 11, 1929

The Vatican becomes a sovereign state

The Lateran Treaty ends a sixty-year standoff between Italy and the papacy, creating the world’s smallest independent state.

Signed on February 11, 1929, the Lateran Treaty settled the dispute left by Italy’s absorption of the Papal States in 1870, giving the Holy See its own territory in Rome.

Vatican City became an independent state the same day, while Italy gained the church’s recognition — negotiated on Mussolini’s side, a fact that still colors the treaty’s legacy.