Answer: As with most things in Italy, the beginnings of the Vatican started during the Roman Empire when the area was just a marshy region called Ager Vaticanus. The wall surrounding the Vatican City was built in 846 AD after a load of Saracen pirates damaged the Basilica. Until 1870, Popes held power over regional territories known as the Papal States. For about 60 years after that numerous popes accepted self-imposed captivity as the rest of Italy was unified. In 1929 an agreement was reached that established Vatican City as a sovereign entity where the Pope rules as anabsolute monarch, elected by the College of Cardinals. |
