Viterbo Papacy
Encyclopedia
History of Rome
The history of Rome spans 2,800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the centre of a vast civilisation that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries. Its political power was eventually replaced by that of peoples of mostly...
, Viterbo became a papal city in 1243. During the later thirteenth century, the ancient Italian city of Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
was the site of five papal elections, the residence of seven pope
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...
s and their Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
s, and remains the location of four papal tombs. These popes resided in the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo
Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo
330px|right|thumb|The Papal Palace of Viterbo - In the background the bell-tower of the CathedralPalazzo dei Papi is a palace in Viterbo, northern Latium, Italy. It is one of the most important monuments in the city, situated alongside the Duomo di Viterbo...
alongside the Viterbo Cathedral intermittently for two decades, from 1257 to 1281; as a result, the papal palace in Viterbo, with that in Orvieto
Orvieto Papacy
Orvieto, Umbria, Italy, was the refuge of five popes during the 13th century: Pope Urban IV , Pope Gregory X , Pope Martin IV , Pope Nicholas IV , Pope Boniface VIII...
, are the most extensive thirteenth-century papal palaces to have survived.
Shifting political and economic alliances pushed and pulled various popes of that century from Rome, taking refuge in other, not invariably hospitable, Italian city-states like Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
and Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
. The primary cleavage in these divisions was between the Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
and Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
claimants to the title of Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
, whom the pope could crown.
Prior papal connections
According to the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
article on Viterbo, "during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the city several times afforded the popes an asylum." Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
(1099–1118) was brought to Viterbo as a prisoner in 1111, and when Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
(1154–1159) met with Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
in the city in 1155, the city was firmly in the Emperor's hands
Antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
s Paschal III
Antipope Paschal III
Antipope Paschal III was Antipope from 1164 to 20 September 1168.His real name was Guido of Crema. Paschal III was the second of the antipopes to challenge the reign of Pope Alexander III. In 1164, a small number of cardinals who had elected Victor IV met again to vote Paschal III as his successor...
(1164–1168) and Callixtus III
Antipope Callixtus III
Antipope Callixtus III or Callistus III was Antipope from September 1168 to 29 August 1178.His real name was Giovanni, Abbot of Struma...
(1168–1178) took shelter in Viterbo, where the nobility had Ghibelline loyalties, but—according to the Catholic Encyclopedia—much of the populace remained loyal to Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
. Viterbo rebelled against the Emperor after the peace between pope and Emperor was concluded.
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
(1198–1216) issued a papal bull from Viterbo in 1214. Viterbo remained loyal to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, and refused to admit Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
in 1232. A series of sieges brought the city back and forth between Guelf and Ghibelline loyalty.
Overview
Residential PopesViterbo was the residence of five popes who died there:
- Pope Alexander IVPope Alexander IVPope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
(1254–1261) - Pope Clement IVPope Clement IVPope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
(1265–1268) - Pope Adrian VPope Adrian VPope Adrian V , born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was pope in 1276.-Biography:Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna....
(1276) - Pope John XXIPope John XXIPope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião (Latin, Petrus Iulianus (c. 1215 – May 20, 1277), a Portuguese also called Pedro Hispano (Latin, Petrus Hispanus; English, Peter of Spain), was Pope from 1276 until his death about eight...
(1276–1277) - Pope Nicholas IIIPope Nicholas IIIPope Nicholas III , born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, Pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St...
(1277–1280)
Two other popes temporarily resided in Viterbo for a time but moved elsewhere before their death:
- Pope Urban IVPope Urban IVPope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
(1261–1264) - Pope Martin IVPope Martin IVPope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
(1281–1285)
Elections
Viterbo was the site of five papal elections:
- Papal election, 1261Papal election, 1261The papal election of May 26–29 August 1261 took place after the death of pope Alexander IV and chose pope Urban IV as his successor....
- Papal election, 1268–1271Papal election, 1268–1271The papal election from November 1268 to September 1, 1271, following the death of Pope Clement IV, was the longest papal election in the history of the Catholic Church. This was due primarily to political infighting between the cardinals...
(Viterbo Cathedral) - Papal election, September 1276 (Viterbo Cathedral)
- Papal election, 1277Papal election, 1277The papal election from May 30, 1277 to November 25, 1277, convened in Viterbo after the death of Pope John XXI, was the smallest papal election since the expansion of suffrage to cardinal-priests and cardinal-deacons, with only seven cardinal electors...
- Papal election, 1280–1281Papal election, 1280–1281The papal election from September 22, 1280 to February 22, 1281 elected Simon de Brion, who took the name Pope Martin IV, as the successor to Pope Nicholas III....
(Viterbo Cathedral)
None of these conformed to the formality of the papal conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
, although several were instrumental in the development of the norms of the conclave.
Papal tombs
Four popes were buried in Viterbo:
- Alexander IVPope Alexander IVPope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
(destroyed in 1490) - Clement IVPope Clement IVPope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
(extant, S. Francesco) - Adrian VPope Adrian VPope Adrian V , born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was pope in 1276.-Biography:Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna....
(extant, S. Francesco) - John XXIPope John XXIPope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião (Latin, Petrus Iulianus (c. 1215 – May 20, 1277), a Portuguese also called Pedro Hispano (Latin, Petrus Hispanus; English, Peter of Spain), was Pope from 1276 until his death about eight...
(extant, Viterbo Cathedral)
Nicholas III, from the powerful Roman Orsini family, was returned to Old St. Peter's Basilica for burial.
History
Pope Alexander IVPope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
was elected in Naples in December 1254. He inherited his predecessor's allegiance to the Hohenstaufen claimants to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
but quickly turned against them. Because of the strength of the Ghibelline
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
faction in Rome, he withdrew to Viterbo in 1257 until his death in 1261. Alexander IV began enlarging the bishop's residence by the Cathedral, and the Papal Palace was completed probably in 1266.
Alexander IV's successor, Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
, returned to Viterbo from the Crusades and was present there when Alexander IV died. A non-cardinal, Urban IV moved to Perugia upon his election, where he died. Urban IV spent the winter and spring of 1261-1262 in Viterbo.
Urban IV's successor, Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
, was elected in Perugia, but established himself in Viterbo, where he remained until his death. Clement IV established permanent residence in Viterbo in 1266. He did not even return to Rome for the crowning of Charles of Anjou as the Holy Roman Emperor by the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
.
The election after Clement IV's death, in Viterbo, lasted three years. Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X
Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....
, a non-cardinal away on the Crusades, was finally elected. Gregory X returned to Rome, and died in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
, while returning from the Second Council of Lyon
Second Council of Lyon
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...
. in France. His successor, Pope Innocent V
Pope Innocent V
Pope Blessed Innocent V , born Pierre de Tarentaise, was Pope from January 21 to June 22, 1276.He was born around 1225 near Moûtiers in the Tarentaise region of the County of Savoy, then part of the Kingdom of Arles in the Holy Roman Empire, but now in southeastern France...
also resided in Rome.
Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V
Pope Adrian V , born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was pope in 1276.-Biography:Ottobuono belonged to a feudal family of Liguria, the Fieschi, Counts of Lavagna....
was pope for a little over a month, and accomplished little other than dying in Viterbo before even being ordained a priest. His Portuguese successor, Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião Pope John XXI, , born Pedro Julião (Latin, Petrus Iulianus (c. 1215 – May 20, 1277), a Portuguese also called Pedro Hispano (Latin, Petrus Hispanus; English, Peter of Spain), was Pope from 1276 until his death about eight...
remained in Viterbo. John XXI expanded the papal palace in Viterbo, and died when a section of the roof collapsed on him.
The next pope, Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III , born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, Pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight Popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St...
, although from the powerful Roman Orsini family
Orsini family
Orsini: the origin of learning.We love Mrs. Orsini forever! ~8F Social Studies 2011The Orsini family is an Italian noble family; it was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and renaissance Rome...
, also died in Viterbo in 1280. During the ensuing election, the magistrates of Viterbo threw two Orsini cardinals into prison. By the time his successor, Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....
, was elected, Viterbo had been placed under interdict
Interdict
The term Interdict may refer to:* Court order enforcing or prohibiting a certain action* Injunction, such as a restraining order...
, and because the French pope was resented in Rome, he was crowned in Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
. The influence of Viterbo on the papacy declined after Martin IV's death in Perugia in 1285.
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
was in Viterbo in 1462.
Architecture
The palace at Viterbo had been the residence of the Bishop of ViterboRoman Catholic Diocese of Viterbo
The Roman Catholic diocese of Viterbo is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in central Italy. It was called historically the diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. Its name was changed to diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania e San Martino al Monte Cimino in 1986, and...
until the 1250s. Alexander IV (1254–1261) enlarged the palace for use as a papal residence. A large three-storied addition was completed in 1266, during the reign of Clement IV (1264–1268). The palace was redecorated in the 1290s, and some of the new additions bear the Caetani
Caetani
Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family princely family which played a great part in the history of Pisa and of Rome, principally via their close links to the papacy.-Origins:...
coat-of-arms of Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
(1294–1303). According to Prof. Radke, although Boniface VIII never even visited Viterbo during his papacy, "the papal arms indicate that the structure had not completely lost its papal associations."
According to Prof. Radke, "the papal palaces in Viterbo and Orvieto are the most extensive thirteenth-century papal palaces to survive to our own day." Radke dates a series of frescoes in the palace to its enlargement during the residence of Clement IV (1264–1268).
Further reading
- Frothingham, A. L., Jr. (1891). "Notes on Roman Artists of the Middle Ages. III. Two Tombs of the Popes at Viterbo by Vassallectus and Petrus Oderisi". The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, 7(1/2): 38.