Vatican City
The name was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, which established the modern city-state. The name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. "Vatican" is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, "Vatica" or "Vaticum" meaning garden, located in the general area the Romans called "vaticanus ager", "Vatican territory".
Geography of Vatican City
Vatican City sits on a low hill. The hill has been called the Vatican Hill (in Latin, "Mons Vaticanus") since long before Christianity existed. An Etruscan settlement, possibly called "Vatica" or "Vaticum", may have existed in the area generally known by the ancient Romans as "Vatican territory" "(vaticanus ager"), but if so no archaeological trace of it has been discovered.