Pope Pius VI
Encyclopedia
Pope Pius VI born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope
from 1775 to 1799.
. After completing his studies in the Jesuit college
of Cesena and receiving his doctorate of law (1734), Braschi continued his studies at the University of Ferrara
, where he became the private secretary of Tommaso Ruffo
, papal legate, in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri
he held the post of auditor
until 1753. His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples
won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV
(1740–58), who appointed him one of his secretaries, 1753, and canon
of St Peter's. In 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married (Pastor 1952) he was ordained priest, and in 1766 appointed treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope Clement XIII
(1758–69). Those who suffered under his conscientious economies cunningly convinced Pope Clement XIV
(1769–74) to make him Cardinal-Priest
of Sant'Onofrio
on 26 April 1773 – a promotion which rendered him, for a time, innocuous. In the four months' conclave which followed the death of Clement XIV Spain, France and Portugal
at length dropped their objection to Braschi, who was after all one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit
policy of the previous Pope, and he was elected to the Holy See on 15 February 1775, taking the name of Pius VI.
. Though usually benevolent, Pius VI sometimes showed discrimination. He made his uncle Giovanni Carlo Bandi
, Bishop of Imola in 1752, and a member of the curia, cardinal in the consistory on 29 May 1775, but did not proffer any other members of his family. He reprimanded prince Potenziani, the governor of Rome, for failing to adequately deal with corruption in the city, appointed a council of cardinals to remedy the state of the finances and relieve the pressure of imposts, called to account Nicolò Bischi for the spending of funds intended for the purchase of grain, reduced the annual disbursements by denying pensions to many prominent people, and adopted a reward system to encourage agriculture.
(1773), the Society of Jesus
had been pronounced dissolved. On the other hand, the zelanti
– the pro-Jesuit party among the cardinals – believed him secretly sympathetic towards the Jesuits, and expected some reparation for the alleged wrongs they suffered under the previous reign. As a result of these complications Pius VI was led into a series of half measures which gave little satisfaction to either party: although it is perhaps largely due to him that the Order was able to escape dissolution in White Russia
and Silesia
; at only one juncture did he ever seriously consider its universal re-establishment, namely in 1792, as a bulwark against the ideas of the French Revolution
(1789).
, writing under the pseudonym "Febronius", the chief German literary exponent of Gallican ideas of national Catholic Churches, was himself induced (not without scandal) publicly to retract his positions; but they were adopted in Austria
nevertheless. There the social and ecclesiastical reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment
, which had been undertaken by Emperor Joseph II
(1765–90) and his minister Kaunitz touched the supremacy of Rome so nearly that in the hope of staying them Pius VI adopted the exceptional course of visiting Vienna
in person. He left Rome on 27 February 1782, and, though magnificently received by the Emperor, his mission proved a fiasco; he was, however, able a few years later to curb those German archbishop
s who, in 1786 at the Congress of Ems
, had shown a tendency towards independence.
difficulties necessitating certain concessions in respect of feudal homage were raised by the liberal minister Tanucci
, and more serious disagreements arose with Leopold II
(1790–92), later emperor, and Scipione del Ricci, bishop of Pistoia and Prato, upon the questions of reform in Tuscany
; but Pius VI did not think fit to condemn the decrees of the synod
of Pistoia
(1786) till nearly eight years had elapsed.
, Pius VI witnessed the suppression of the old Gallican Church
, the confiscation of pontifical and ecclesiastical possessions in France, and an effigy of himself burnt by the Parisians at the Palais Royal
.
and Loreto
. Pius VI sued for peace, which was granted at Tolentino
on 19 February 1797; but on 28 December of that year, in a riot blamed by papal forces on some Italian and French revolutionists, the popular brigadier-general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot, who had gone to Rome with Joseph Bonaparte as part of the French embassy, was killed and a new pretext was furnished for invasion. General Berthier marched to Rome, entered it unopposed on 10 February 1798, and, proclaiming a Roman Republic, demanded of the Pope the renunciation of his temporal authority.
Upon his refusal he was taken prisoner, and on 20 February was escorted from the Vatican to Siena, and thence to the Certosa near Florence. The French declaration of war against Tuscany led to his removal (he was escorted by the Spaniard Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador
) by way of Parma
, Piacenza
, Turin
and Grenoble
to the citadel of Valence
, the chief town of Drôme
where he died six weeks after his arrival, on 29 August 1799, having then reigned longer than any Pope (except possibly St. Peter).
Pius VI's body was embalmed, but was not buried until 30 January 1800 after Napoleon saw political advantage to burying the deceased Pope in efforts to bring the Catholic Church back into France. His entourage insisted for some time that his last wishes were to be buried in Rome, then behind the Austrian lines. They also prevented a Constitutional
bishop from presiding at the burial, as the laws of France then required, so no burial service was held. This recrudescence of the investiture
conflict was settled by the Concordat of 1801
. Pius VI's body was removed from Valence on 24 December 1801 and buried at Rome 19 February 1802.
"The mortal remains of Pius VI, consumed in unjust exile,
by order of Pius XII
are placed in this dignified and decorous location, illustrious for art and history,
in 1949". http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Grottoes/Pius%20VI/Tomb%20of%20Pius%20VI.htm
(1513–21) in the promotion of art and public works; the words Munificentia Pii VI. P. M. graven in all parts of the city, giving rise amongst his impoverished subjects to such satire as the insertion of a minute loaf in the hands of Pasquin with that inscription beneath it. He is best remembered in connection with the establishment of the Museum of the Vatican, begun at his suggestion of his predecessor and with an impractical and expensive attempt to drain the Pontine Marshes
, something later successfully achieved in the 1930s by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini
.
The portrait in the box is one of numerous studio copies of the official portrait by Pompeo Batoni
, 1775 http://www.museodiroma.comune.roma.it/PalazzoBraschi/VISUALIZZA_SCHEDA_OPERA.show?p_prgscheda=132938&p_tipo_scheda=OA&p_museo=10001&p_web=INTE.
Pius VI has been accused of having led a futile and immoral life, of having neglected his duties and of having been bad-tempered and even brutal with his attendants. Allowance of course must be made for enmity and exaggeration, but there can be no doubt that the Pope resorted to low and crooked means of obtaining money, both to meet the demands of his insatiable family and the cost of his own extravagance. As a monarch he was isolated and ignored. When the French Revolution broke out, the population of Avignon and of the Comtat Venaissin turned out the papal officials and declared themselves French citizens. News of this event was received in Paris with a great show of rejoicing and the Pope's effigy was publicly burned in the gardens of the Palais Royal to the accompaniment of ribald jokes and songs." http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/triple-crown-pius-vi.htm.
A long audience with Pius VI is one of the most extensive scenes in the Marquis de Sade
's narrative Juliette
, published in 1798. Juliette shows off her learning to the Pope (whom she most often addresses as "Braschi") with a verbal catalogue of alleged immoralities committed by his predecessors.
As a means of humiliation, Sylvain Maréchal
's play Le Judgment dernier des rois forces the character of the pope to marry after a global revolution has dethroned him and other monarchs.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
from 1775 to 1799.
Early years
Braschi was born in CesenaCesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
. After completing his studies in the Jesuit college
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
of Cesena and receiving his doctorate of law (1734), Braschi continued his studies at the University of Ferrara
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy...
, where he became the private secretary of Tommaso Ruffo
Tommaso Ruffo
Tommaso Ruffo was an Italian archbishop of Ferrara and Cardinal.-Life:He was born in Naples, son of Carlo Ruffo, 3rd Duke of Bagnara. He was educated at La Sapienza University, becoming a doctor of canon and civil law...
, papal legate, in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri
Bishop of Ostia
The Bishop of Ostia is the head of the Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia, one of the seven suburbicarian sees of Rome. The position is now attached to the post of Dean of the College of Cardinals, as it has been since 1150, with the actual governance of the diocese entrusted to the Vicar General of...
he held the post of auditor
Auditor (ecclesiastical)
In ecclesiastical terminology, an Auditor is a person given authority to hear cases in an ecclesiastical court.- Roman Catholic Church :...
until 1753. His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...
(1740–58), who appointed him one of his secretaries, 1753, and canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of St Peter's. In 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married (Pastor 1952) he was ordained priest, and in 1766 appointed treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII
Pope Clement XIII , born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was Pope from 16 July 1758 to 2 February 1769....
(1758–69). Those who suffered under his conscientious economies cunningly convinced Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...
(1769–74) to make him Cardinal-Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of Sant'Onofrio
Sant'Onofrio
Sant'Onofrio is a comune in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about 45 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 4 km northeast of Vibo Valentia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,202 and an area of 18.4 km²...
on 26 April 1773 – a promotion which rendered him, for a time, innocuous. In the four months' conclave which followed the death of Clement XIV Spain, France and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
at length dropped their objection to Braschi, who was after all one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
policy of the previous Pope, and he was elected to the Holy See on 15 February 1775, taking the name of Pius VI.
Early actions
The earlier acts of Pius VI gave fair promise of liberal rule and reform in the corrupt administration of the Papal StatesPapal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. Though usually benevolent, Pius VI sometimes showed discrimination. He made his uncle Giovanni Carlo Bandi
Giovanni Carlo Bandi
Giovanni Carlo Bandi JUD was an Italian Cardinal who served as Bishop of Imola.Bandi was born in Cesena. He was the uncle of Pope Pius VI on his mother's side. He was educated at the University of Fermo where he received a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law on 9 December 1734. ...
, Bishop of Imola in 1752, and a member of the curia, cardinal in the consistory on 29 May 1775, but did not proffer any other members of his family. He reprimanded prince Potenziani, the governor of Rome, for failing to adequately deal with corruption in the city, appointed a council of cardinals to remedy the state of the finances and relieve the pressure of imposts, called to account Nicolò Bischi for the spending of funds intended for the purchase of grain, reduced the annual disbursements by denying pensions to many prominent people, and adopted a reward system to encourage agriculture.
Compromise candidate
The circumstances of Pius VI's election as a compromise candidate, involved him in difficulties from the outset of his pontificate. He had received the support of the ministers of the Catholic crowns and the anti-Jesuit party upon a tacit understanding that he would continue the action of Clement XIV, by whose brief Dominus ac RedemptorDominus ac Redemptor
Dominus ac Redemptor is the papal brief promulgated on 21 July 1773 by which Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus.-Circumstances:...
(1773), the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
had been pronounced dissolved. On the other hand, the zelanti
Zelanti
In Roman Catholicism, the expression zelanti has been applied to conservative members of the clergy and their lay supporters since the thirteenth century. Its specific connotations have shifted with each reapplication of the label...
– the pro-Jesuit party among the cardinals – believed him secretly sympathetic towards the Jesuits, and expected some reparation for the alleged wrongs they suffered under the previous reign. As a result of these complications Pius VI was led into a series of half measures which gave little satisfaction to either party: although it is perhaps largely due to him that the Order was able to escape dissolution in White Russia
White Russia
White Russia or White Ruthenia is a name that has historically been applied to a part of the wider region of Ruthenia or Rus', most often to that which roughly corresponds to the eastern part of present-day Belarus including the cities of Polatsk, Vitsyebsk and Mahiliou. In English, the use of the...
and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
; at only one juncture did he ever seriously consider its universal re-establishment, namely in 1792, as a bulwark against the ideas of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
(1789).
Gallican and Febronian protests
Besides facing dissatisfaction with this temporising policy, Pius VI met with practical protests tending to the limitation of papal authority. Johann Nikolaus von HontheimJohann Nikolaus von Hontheim
Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim was a German historian and theologian. He is remembered as Febronius, the pseudonym under which he wrote his 1763 treatise On the State of the Church and the Legitimate Power of the Roman Pontiff which offered Europe the "foremost formulation of the arguments against...
, writing under the pseudonym "Febronius", the chief German literary exponent of Gallican ideas of national Catholic Churches, was himself induced (not without scandal) publicly to retract his positions; but they were adopted in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
nevertheless. There the social and ecclesiastical reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, which had been undertaken by Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
(1765–90) and his minister Kaunitz touched the supremacy of Rome so nearly that in the hope of staying them Pius VI adopted the exceptional course of visiting Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in person. He left Rome on 27 February 1782, and, though magnificently received by the Emperor, his mission proved a fiasco; he was, however, able a few years later to curb those German archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s who, in 1786 at the Congress of Ems
Congress of Ems
The Congress of Ems was a meeting set up by German and Austrian Catholic archbishops, and held in August 1786 in Bad Ems, near Koblenz. Its object was to protest against papal interference in the exercise of episcopal powers, and to fix the future relations between the participating bishops and the...
, had shown a tendency towards independence.
Kingdom of Naples
In the Kingdom of NaplesKingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
difficulties necessitating certain concessions in respect of feudal homage were raised by the liberal minister Tanucci
Bernardo Tanucci
Bernardo Tanucci was an Italian statesman, who brought enlightened government to the backward Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for Charles III and his son Ferdinand IV.-Biography:...
, and more serious disagreements arose with Leopold II
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
(1790–92), later emperor, and Scipione del Ricci, bishop of Pistoia and Prato, upon the questions of reform in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
; but Pius VI did not think fit to condemn the decrees of the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
(1786) till nearly eight years had elapsed.
French Revolution
At the outbreak of the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, Pius VI witnessed the suppression of the old Gallican Church
Gallican Church
The Gallican Church was the Catholic Church in France from the time of the Declaration of the Clergy of France to that of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution....
, the confiscation of pontifical and ecclesiastical possessions in France, and an effigy of himself burnt by the Parisians at the Palais Royal
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
.
Deposition and death under Napoleon
In 1796 French Republican troops under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy, defeated the papal troops and occupied AnconaAncona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
and Loreto
Loreto (AN)
Loreto is a hilltown and comune of the Italian province of Ancona, in the Marche. It is mostly famous as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site.-Location:...
. Pius VI sued for peace, which was granted at Tolentino
Tolentino
Tolentino is a town and comune of about 20,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy.It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti.-History:...
on 19 February 1797; but on 28 December of that year, in a riot blamed by papal forces on some Italian and French revolutionists, the popular brigadier-general Mathurin-Léonard Duphot, who had gone to Rome with Joseph Bonaparte as part of the French embassy, was killed and a new pretext was furnished for invasion. General Berthier marched to Rome, entered it unopposed on 10 February 1798, and, proclaiming a Roman Republic, demanded of the Pope the renunciation of his temporal authority.
Upon his refusal he was taken prisoner, and on 20 February was escorted from the Vatican to Siena, and thence to the Certosa near Florence. The French declaration of war against Tuscany led to his removal (he was escorted by the Spaniard Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador
Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador
Don Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador was a Spanish diplomat and nobleman who served as Spain's representative at the Congress of Vienna . Labrador did not successfully advance his country's diplomatic goals at the conference...
) by way of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
to the citadel of Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, the chief town of Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
where he died six weeks after his arrival, on 29 August 1799, having then reigned longer than any Pope (except possibly St. Peter).
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
bishop from presiding at the burial, as the laws of France then required, so no burial service was held. This recrudescence of the investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
conflict was settled by the Concordat of 1801
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801. It solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brought back most of its civil status....
. Pius VI's body was removed from Valence on 24 December 1801 and buried at Rome 19 February 1802.
Reburial
By decree of Pope Pius XII in 1949, the remains of Pius VI were moved to the Chapel of the Madonna below St. Peter's in the Papal Grotto. His remains were placed in an ancient marble sarcophagus. The inscription on the wall above the container reads:"The mortal remains of Pius VI, consumed in unjust exile,
by order of Pius XII
are placed in this dignified and decorous location, illustrious for art and history,
in 1949". http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Grottoes/Pius%20VI/Tomb%20of%20Pius%20VI.htm
Legacy
The name of Pius VI is associated with many and often unpopular attempts to revive the splendour of Pope Leo XPope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
(1513–21) in the promotion of art and public works; the words Munificentia Pii VI. P. M. graven in all parts of the city, giving rise amongst his impoverished subjects to such satire as the insertion of a minute loaf in the hands of Pasquin with that inscription beneath it. He is best remembered in connection with the establishment of the Museum of the Vatican, begun at his suggestion of his predecessor and with an impractical and expensive attempt to drain the Pontine Marshes
Pontine Marshes
thumb|250px|Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain.The Pontine Marshes, termed in Latin Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, Pomptina Palus and Pomptinae Paludes by Pliny the Elder, today the Agro Pontino in Italian, is an approximately quadrangular area of former marshland in the Lazio...
, something later successfully achieved in the 1930s by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
.
The portrait in the box is one of numerous studio copies of the official portrait by Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
, 1775 http://www.museodiroma.comune.roma.it/PalazzoBraschi/VISUALIZZA_SCHEDA_OPERA.show?p_prgscheda=132938&p_tipo_scheda=OA&p_museo=10001&p_web=INTE.
Pius VI has been accused of having led a futile and immoral life, of having neglected his duties and of having been bad-tempered and even brutal with his attendants. Allowance of course must be made for enmity and exaggeration, but there can be no doubt that the Pope resorted to low and crooked means of obtaining money, both to meet the demands of his insatiable family and the cost of his own extravagance. As a monarch he was isolated and ignored. When the French Revolution broke out, the population of Avignon and of the Comtat Venaissin turned out the papal officials and declared themselves French citizens. News of this event was received in Paris with a great show of rejoicing and the Pope's effigy was publicly burned in the gardens of the Palais Royal to the accompaniment of ribald jokes and songs." http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/triple-crown-pius-vi.htm.
A long audience with Pius VI is one of the most extensive scenes in the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
's narrative Juliette
L'Histoire de Juliette
Juliette is a novel written by the Marquis de Sade and published 1797–1801, accompanying Sade's Nouvelle Justine. While Justine, Juliette's sister, was a virtuous woman who consequently encountered nothing but despair and abuse, Juliette is an amoral nymphomaniac who ends up successful and...
, published in 1798. Juliette shows off her learning to the Pope (whom she most often addresses as "Braschi") with a verbal catalogue of alleged immoralities committed by his predecessors.
As a means of humiliation, Sylvain Maréchal
Sylvain Maréchal
Sylvain Maréchal was a French essayist, poet, philosopher, and, as a political theorist, precursor of utopian socialism and communism...
's play Le Judgment dernier des rois forces the character of the pope to marry after a global revolution has dethroned him and other monarchs.