The existence of the Vatican City, an independent country with the Pope as its ruler, and the existence of the Vatican Posts and their stamp issues, is a consequence of the Lateran Pacts or Lateran Accords of 1928-1929. The Pacts were signed by Italy and the Holy See on Monday 11 February, 1929, becoming the Lateran Treaty. The Italian Parliament ratified the Treaty on 7 June, 1929.
The Vatican Post Office dates from the day of the signing of the treaty; it began operations on 13 February 1929, initially with equipment and personnel from the Rome section of the Italian Post Office, which had from September 1870 until that month provided postal services in the territory of the minuscule new state of 44 hectares (110 acres). Membership of the Universal Postal Union was granted on 1 June 1929.
On 1 August 1929 a postal agreement with Italy became effective, whereby mail in to and out
