Vatican City ? Relations between the Vatican and Italy were so bad a century ago that popes refused to recognize the newly unified country and called themselves prisoners in the Vatican.

Pope John Paul II will show just how far the two sides have come Thursday when he becomes the first pontiff to address the Italian parliament.

Italians have been giddy with anticipation of the event. Newspapers have speculated daily about what the Polish-born pope will say and politicians have marveled at the historic significance of the visit.

The Communications Ministry issued a commemorative postcard bearing images of the pope against the backdrop of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, and the Vatican will hand out special medals to lawmakers for the occasion.

The Rome daily La Repubblica said in an editorial this week that the visit “represents the symbolic surmounting of the breach of Porta Pia,” a reference to the 1870 capture of Rome by the Italian army that ended the pope’s rule over the city.

The Vatican didn’t say what John Paul would talk about, but he was likely to raise at least some of the themes he has addressed over the years: Christian traditions in Europe, bioethics, peace, justice and democracy.

Italian prison inmates hoped the pontiff would appeal to Italian authorities for a general clemency, as he did during a special Mass he celebrated in a Rome prison in 2000.