The Papal States are an entity that existed for centuries under the authority of the Pope in Rome. While the Frankish king Charlemagne officially became emperor of a new Roman Empire in 800ad, the relationship between the Pope, who held lands around the City of Rome, and the German Emperor was always ambiguous and at times conflictual. The entire history of Northern Italy from medieval times to the early 19th Century can be seen as the results of that conflict. Romeo and Juliet's families were deemed to belong to Guelfi and Ghibellini factions, who were supporters of the Pope and the Emperor.
After the dissolution of the Empire and the end of Napoleon's domination, the Papal States became a fully sovereign state, which would last until they became part of the new Kingdom of Italy. Again, this was not done without acrimony: the Pope initially rejected the unification of Italy under a secular monarch, but he was defeated and Rome joined Italy in 1870. A period of defiance followed when the Pope essentially stayed in his Palace at the Vatican in Rome. In 1929, the Lateran Accords put an end to the "Roman Question" by giving the Pope sovereignty on the City of Vatican, the smallest state in the World.
The Papal States
