X-Nico

unusual facts about Lateran Treaty


Achille Silvestrini

He then turned his focus for the next five years to the renewal of the Lateran Treaty on its fiftieth anniversary, and his diplomatic skills allowed him to sign a revised treaty that reflected the rapid secularisation of Italy since the 1960s.


Lateran

The most famous Lateran buildings are the Lateran Palace, once called the Palace of the Popes, and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, which although part of Italy is a property of the Holy See that has extraterritorial privileges as a result of the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

Ultramontanism

Thus, as a result of the 1929 Lateran Treaty which established a Concordat between the Holy See and the nation of Italy, the secular power of the Bishop of Rome, i.e., the Pope, was reduced to the one square mile of Vatican City, the smallest sovereign nation on earth.


see also

Culture in Rome

According to the Lateran Treaty, certain properties of the Holy See that are located in Italian territory, most notably Castel Gandolfo and the major basilicas, enjoy extraterritorial status similar to that of foreign embassies.