Browse our pictures of Vaticano. The Città del Vaticano was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty as a vestige of the much larger Papal States. Città del Vaticano is non-hereditary, elected monarchy and is governed by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). It is part of the Mons Vaticanus, and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields where St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and museums were built, along with various other buildings.