PAPAL INFALLIBILITY. See INFALLIBILITY, ante.
pAPAL STATES (Italian, STATI DELLA CJIIESA, or STATI PONTIFIC1), a territory, or rather group of states in central Italy, formerly united into one sovereignty, with the pope for its head. It was of an irregular farm, resembling the letter Z, the upper por tion lying to the e. of the Apennines, the lower to the w. of that range, these two being connected by a third strip, which crossed the peninsula from e. to west. The papal states were bounded on the n. by the Po, on the s. by Naples, on the e. by the gulf of Venice and Naples, and on the w. by Modena, Tuscany, and the Tyrrhenian sea. Detached portions, as Benevento and Pontecorvo, lay within the Neapolitan territory. The country is traversed by the Apennines, which attain their highest elevation in the nionte della Sibilla, which is about 7,402 ft. above sea-level. Owing to this range, which traverses the peninsula in the direction of its length, lying so much nearer the e. than the w. coast, the streams to the e. of it have a short course and little volume, being. iii fact, mere mountain torrents; while on the w. side a few of the rivers are of considerable size. Of the latter the Tiber (q.v.) is the largest. The eastern coast is bold and rugged, and destitute of proper harbors, that of Ancona alone excepted; towards the n.. at the mouth of the Po, it gradually subsides into a low, level, marshy tract, with numerous lagunes. The country w. of the Apennines is traversed by ranges of hills parallel them, and gradually decreasing in elevation as they approach the sea. The coast itself is almost wholly fiat, sandy, or marshy, with no deep bays and few good harbors besides Civita Vecchia. There are numerous small lakes, principally in the northern portion of the country, the chief of which are lake Bolsena, lake Perugia, and lake Bracciano, the last an old crater, situated almost 1000 ft. above sea-level.
The country was divided for administrative purposes into 20 districts, as follows: 1 Comarca, including Rome and the Argo Romano; 6 legations, Bologna, Ferrara, For14 Ravenna, Urbino, Velletri; and 13 delegations, Ancona, Ascoli, Benevento, Camerino, Civita Fenno, FrOSiDO lie, Macerata, Orvieto, Perugia, Spoleto, Rieti, Viterbo; with a total area of 15.774 English sq.m., and a population of above 3,000,000. The legations of Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, and Ravenna constituted theRomagna; Spoleto and Perugia were known as Umbria; and Anemia, Fenno, Macerata, and Ascoli constituted the March of Ancona. The inhabitants, with the exception of 16,000 Jews, were of
Italian race, and of the Roman Catholic religion. The only provinces which latterly remained under the papal ride were, Rome with the Comarca. the legation of Velletri, and the delegations of Civita Vecchia, Frosinone (excepting Pontecorvo), and Viterbo, with a total area of 4,493 English sq.m., and a population of about 700,000. The chief cities and towns in the territory were, Rome (the capital), Viterbo, Velletri, Alatri, and Civita Vecchia.
Climate and Products.—The climate of the papal states is one of the finest in the world, and the heat of summer is tempered by the mild and cooling sea breezes: but in the flats s. of the Po and in the campagna of Rome, the noxious atmosphere produced by the exhalations from the marshes is most destructive of human life. Fever and ague are very prevalent among the inhabitants of the neighboring districts, and notwithstanding the attempts to remedy the deadly influence of the marshes by drainage and cultivation, it has hitherto been undiminished (see MAnEmmA). Violent siroccos are occasionally experienced on the wt coast. The northern portion, from its elevation, is exposed to severe cold during- winter. The soil of the papal states is m general extremely fertile; but the higher mountain districts are either quite barren, or only adapted for pasture; and not more than one-third of the whole surface is under cultivation. The practice of agriculture is in its most primitive state, notwithstanding the fact that agriculture, as a science, originated here, and was practiced for many centuries before it was introduced into the other countries of Europe; but the many political changes and revolutions which have convulsed the country, have acted as a bar to all enterprise. It must, however, lie mentioned, that the present pope has, by salutary enactments, and by the establishment of agricultural societies, done much for the improvement of this branch of industry. The products are similar to those of the rest of Italy. The manufactures are compara tively unimportant—silks, woolens, and leather are the chief; but plate-glass, rop6, sail cloth, cotton goods, paper, artificial flowers, wax-candles, soap, stoneware, etc., are also manufactured in various places. The fisheries are important. The chief minerals are alum, vitriol. saltpeter, sulphur, coal, rock-salt, marble, and alabaster.