Papal States

State of the Church
Stato della Chiesa
Status Ecclesiasticus
754–1870
Interregna (1798–1799, 1809–1814 and 1849)
Coat of arms until 19th century of Papal States
Coat of arms until 19th century
Anthem: 
The Papal States in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars
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.
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.
CapitalRome
Common languagesLatin, Italian, Occitan
Religion
Roman Catholic
GovernmentTheocratic 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
781
• Treaty of Venice (independence from the Holy Roman Empire)
1177
February 15, 1798
May 17, 1809
September 20, 1870
February 11, 1929
Population
• 1853[1]
3,124,668
Currency
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
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church (Italian: Stato della Chiesa, Italian pronunciation: [ˈstato della ˈkjɛːza]; Latin: Status Ecclesiasticus;[2] 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.

  1. Statistica della popolazione dello Stato pontificio dell'anno 1853 (PDF). Ministero del commercio e lavori pubblici. 1857. p. XXII. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. Frederik de Wit, "Status Ecclesiasticus et Magnus Ducatus Thoscanae" (1700)

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