Vatican City, where the Pope resides, is entirely contained within Italy. More precisely, it is a sovereign, landlocked city-state enclosed by the city of Rome, Italy.
Vatican City became an independent state in 1929 through the Lateran Treaty, signed by the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement resolved the long-running dispute that followed the loss of the Papal States during Italian unification and established the territorial basis of the modern Vatican City State.
The tiny country contains St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican Museums, and the Vatican Gardens. Its boundary is partly marked by walls, while St. Peter’s Square meets Italian territory along a subtle line near Piazza Pio XII. Visitors generally enter from Rome without passport controls.
Vatican City and the Holy See are related but not identical terms. Vatican City is the territory and state; the Holy See is the Pope and the central governing authority of the Catholic Church. The Holy See conducts diplomacy and represents the Catholic Church internationally.