Papal States

American  

plural noun

1. the areas comprising a large district in central Italy ruled as a temporal domain by the popes from a.d. 755 until the greater part of it was annexed in 1860, by Victor Emmanuel II: the remaining part, Rome and its environs, was absorbed into the kingdom of Italy in 1870.

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Papal States British  

plural noun

1. Also called: States of the Church.  the temporal domain of the popes in central Italy from 756 _ad until the unification of Italy in 1870

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Example Sentences

Case in point: John XII kicked his papacy off with a bang, leading an army against two Italian duchies to try to reclaim key papal states.

From Time • Jan. 13, 2017

Under the Diploma Ottonianum, the Pope offered Otto the imperial title he craved, and in exchange, Otto defended the papal states against an Italian King, Berengar II, who was invading the papal states.

From Time • Jan. 13, 2017

But evidence shows that his primary goal was to protect the papal states, rather than inspire believers.

From Time • Jan. 13, 2017

Official persecution had ended long before last week's momentous visit--in 1870, when the papal states were overthrown and Italy abolished the ghetto.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus it was that Marco Sciarra of the Abruzzi, when hard pressed by the Spanish viceroy of Naples—just before and after 1600—could cross the border of the papal states and return on a favourable opportunity.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various