Pope Gregory XIII

Pontiff used his power to change the date overnight

Pope Gregory XIII took his papal name in
honour of another reformer, Gregory I

Pope Gregory XIII was born Ugo Boncompagni on this day in 1502 in Bologna.

Gregory XIII is chiefly remembered for bringing in the Gregorian calendar, which is still the internationally accepted calendar today.

As Ugo Boncompagni, he studied law in Bologna and graduated in 1530. He later taught jurisprudence and among his students were the Cardinals Alessandro Farnese and Carlo Borromeo.

Before he took holy orders, Ugo had an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, who gave birth to his illegitimate son, Giacomo Boncompagni.

Pope Paul III summoned Ugo to Rome in 1538 to work for him in a judicial capacity. He went on to work for Pope Paul IV and Pope Pius IV. Ugo was made Cardinal Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and sent to the Council of Trent by Pius IV.

He was also sent to be legate to Phillip II of Spain and formed a close relationship with the Spanish King.

In 1572, after the death of Pope Pius V, the 70-year-old Cardinal Boncompagni was chosen to be the next pope and assumed the name of Gregory XIII, in homage to Pope Gregory I, who is remembered as a great church reformer.

Mathematician and astronomer Christopher
Clavius was co-writer of the calendar

Following in his namesake’s footsteps, Gregory XIII dedicated himself to reforming the Catholic Church and putting into practice the recommendations of the Council of Trent.

The Roman College of the Jesuits grew under his direction and became an important centre of learning. It is now known as the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Gregory XIII is best known for replacing the Julian calendar, which had been in use since 45 BC, with the calendar produced by astronomer Luigi Giglio and the German Jesuit priest, mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius, making the year slightly shorter.

In the Julian calendar, each year was too long, meaning that the March equinox had slipped back to an earlier date over the centuries.

The Pope decreed in 1582 that the day after Thursday, 4 October would be Friday, 15 October. The new calendar became known as the Gregorian calendar and is now used universally.

Gregory XIII encouraged Phillip II of Spain in his plans to dethrone Elizabeth I of England, causing English Protestants to regard all Catholics as potential traitors.

Detail of the monument to Pope Gregory VIII in the
Basilica of St Peter in Rome

He equipped an expedition to Ireland to help the Catholics in their struggle with the Protestants, but all the soldiers, sailors and women and children on board the boat were either beheaded or hanged on landing in Kerry, during what became known as the Smerwick Massacre.

In Rome, Gregory XIII had work completed on the magnificent Gregorian Chapel in the Basilica of Saint Peter and extended the Quirinale palace. He appointed his illegitimate son, Giacomo, as Castellan of Sant’Angelo and Gonfalonier of the Church. Venice enrolled Giacomo among its nobles and Phillip II made him one of his army generals. Gregory also helped his son acquire the Duchy of Sora on the border between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples.

To fund these projects, Gregory XIII confiscated houses and properties belonging to the church.

Pope Gregory XIII became ill with a fever in 1585 and died on 10 April, aged 83. He was succeeded by Pope Sixtus V, who found the papacy had been left considerably impoverished.

The campanile of the Basilica of San Sisto
Vecchia, where Gregory XIII was priest

Travel tip:

The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchia in Piazzale Numa Pompilo in Rome, where Pope Gregory XIII was Cardinal Priest for seven years, is one of 60 minor basilicas in the city. The basilica was built near the Baths of Caracalla in the fourth century and is dedicated to Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred in 258. His relics were transferred to the church from the Catacomb of Callixtus in the sixth century. San Sisto was rebuilt in the 13th century and restored in the 18th century, preserving only the bell tower, apse and a 13th century fresco cycle from the medieval church.

The dome of the Gregorian Chapel, finished by Giacomo
della Porta, in St Peter's Basilica

Travel tip:

Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the architect Giacomo della Porta to complete the work started by Michelangelo on the chapel in St Peter’s Basilica that was to be named after the pontiff. It has been described as ‘the most beautiful chapel in the world’ because of its marbles, mother-of-pearl, precious stones, gilded bronze, multi-coloured mosaics and stucco ornamentation. The monument to Pope Gregory XIII in white marble, executed by Milanese sculptor Camillo Rusconi, is in the Basilica near the entrance to the Gregorian Chapel. The Pope is portrayed giving his blessing on top of an urn bearing a relief showing the promulgation of the Gregorian calendar in 1852.

Also on this day:

1625: The death of religious composer Ruggiero Giovanelli

1655: The death of Pope Innocent X

1797: The tricolore flag is hoisted for the first time

1920: The birth of actor Vincent Gardenia


Home


.

Carlo Gesualdo – composer

Madrigal writer was also a murderer

Carlo Gesualdo devoted himself to music
from an early age

Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa, who composed highly experimental music for his time, was born on this day in 1566 in the principality of Venosa, then part of the Kingdom of Naples.

He was to become known both for his extraordinary music and for the brutal killing of his first wife and her aristocratic lover after he caught them together.

Gesualdo was the nephew of Carlo Borromeo, who later became Saint Charles Borromeo. His mother, Geronima Borromeo, was the niece of Pope Pius IV.

Although Gesualdo was sent to Rome to begin an ecclesiastical career, he became heir to the principality after his older brother died. He married his cousin, Donna Maria D’Avalos, and they had a son, Emanuele.

Gesualdo was devoted to music from an early age and mixed with musicians and composers, learning to play the lute, harpsichord and guitar.

Donna Maria began an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, Duke of Andria and Count of Ruova, and one night in 1590 Gesualdo caught them in flagrante at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples. He killed them both on the spot.

A delegation of officials from Naples inspected the room where they were killed and found the corpses were mutilated.

The Palazzo San Severo, where Gesualdo murdered his
wife and her aristocratic lover

Witnesses said he had returned to the room to make certain they were dead. But the court decided Gesualdo had not committed a crime.

After Gesualdo’s father died, he became Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. He arranged to marry Leonora d’Este and travelled to the Este court at Ferrara.

At the time the court was a centre of musical activity and the madrigal was popular. Surrounded by some of the finest musicians in Italy, Gesualdo wrote his first book of madrigals, having worked with three renowned female singers.

Back at his castle in the town of  Gesualdo, in the province of Avellino, he established a group of resident singers and musicians to perform his music, both sacred and secular, which he later published with a printer in Naples.

Listen to one of Gesualdo's best-known madrigals

His relationship with his second wife was poor and she spent a lot of time away. His son by his second marriage died in 1600.

Gesualdo began to suffer from depression and it has been claimed he asked his servants to beat him regularly. He died alone at his castle three weeks after the death of his eldest son, Emanuele, in 1613.

The church of Gesu Nuovo in Naples, where Carlo
Gesualdo was buried after his death in 1613

He was buried in the chapel of Saint Ignatius, in the church of Gesu Nuovo in Naples. His tomb was destroyed in the earthquake of 1688 and covered over when the church was rebuilt. The composer now lies beneath the church, but his burial plaque is still visible.

It has been said the the guilt he felt over the murders he committed was expressed through his music, which was among the most experimental of the Renaissance. Similar music was not composed again until the 19th century.

Gesualdo’s most famous works are his six books of madrigals, but his music and life story has inspired other music, operas and books.  The Music Conservatory in Potenza is named the Conservatoria di Musica Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa in his honour.

The Aragonese Castle in Venosa, built in 1470, which
Gesualdo turned into a residence 

Travel tip:

Venosa, where Carlo Gesualdo was born, is in the province of Potenza in Basilicata. One of the main sights is the Aragonese Castle, built in 1470, which he turned into a residence. It now houses the National Museum of Venosa and a collection of Roman artefacts. The nearby Archaeological Area of Notarchirico covers the Palaeolithic period with eleven layers dating from 600,000 to 300,000 years ago. Remains of ancient wildlife, including extinct species of elephants, bisons and rhinoceroses, have been found, as well as a fragment of a femur from the Homo erectus species of ancient humans.

Hotels in Venosa from Booking.com

The town of Gesualdo in Campania, which is called 'the city
of the prince of musicians' in honour of Carlo Gesualdo

Travel tip:

Gesualdo, in the province of Avellino in Campania, is called ‘the city of the prince of musicians’ in honour of the composer, who wrote madrigals at the castle, which he transformed from a fortress into a palace able to accommodate writers, such as Torquato Tasso, and musicians.

More reading:

How Carlo Borromeo led moves to stop the spread of Protestantism

Luca Marenzio, the madrigal writer who influenced Monteverdi

Salomone Rossi, the leading Jewish composer of the Renaissance

Also on this day:

La Festa della Donna - International Women's Day

1949: The birth of evergreen singer-songwriter Antonello Venditti

Home