TIL that Rome wasn't part of the Holy Roman Empire. "Neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire" according to Voltaire.

It was part of the Holy Roman Empire for hundreds of years, but not at the end. The Holy Roman Empire started in 800 CE and Rome was part of it.

The Italian states started becoming more autonomous in the mid-1100s. It wasn't until the 1600s that they were fully independent.