Pope Leo XIII

Why the papal name Leo has been inspirational

A photograph of Pope Leo XIII
taken at the time of his election

Pope Leo XIII, who was the fourth longest serving pope in history, died on this day in 1903 in Rome at the age of 93. His reputation for supporting the rights of industrial workers inspired the current pope, Leo XIV, to choose Leo as his papal name after he was elected in May 2025.

Leo XIII served as pope for 25 years, despite fears after his election in 1878 that he was in delicate health. Only three popes have served for longer. They were the first pope, Saint Peter the Apostle, Pope Pius IX, and Pope John Paul II.

He was born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci in Carpineto Romano in Lazio in 1810. His family were both noble and religious and he was educated at the Jesuit College of Viterbo. He enjoyed Latin and was writing his own poems in Latin by the age of 11.

After his mother died, his father, Count Domenico Pecci, wanted his children to be near him, so he moved to Rome, where he attended the Jesuit Collegium Romanum.

As a young man, Pecci studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where he won awards for academic excellence. He was appointed as a prelate by Pope Gregory XVI before he was even ordained as a priest and he was later appointed as papal legate to Benevento.

He faced a decaying local economy badly affected by Mafia and Camorra organisations linked to the local aristocracy. Pecci arrested the most powerful aristocrat in Benevento and had others either killed or imprisoned.  He reformed the tax system to stimulate trade.

He was then sent to Perugia where his fight against corruption continued. When it was claimed a baker was selling bread below the legal weight, he personally went to the bakery and had all the bread weighed. The bread found to be below the weight was confiscated and distributed to poor people.

A book illustration showing
Pecci as Nuncio to Belgium

At the age of 33, Pecci was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium and he was then consecrated as an archbishop. 

From 1846 to 1877 he was a popular Archbishop of Perugia. He formed homeless shelters for boys, girls, and women, opened a bank, Monte di Pietà, which provided low-interest loans to poor people, and he created soup kitchens. 

After being appointed Cardinal Bishop of Crisogno in 1853, Pecci began to address the role of the church in modern society, defining it as ‘the mother of material civilisation’ because it upheld the dignity of working people and their right to a fair wage and to go on strike.

He was appointed to an office in the papal household in 1877 by Pope Pius IX, which required him to move back to Rome. After Pius IX died in 1878, Cardinal Pecci was elected as the new pope on the third ballot and he chose the papal name Leo XIII. He said he had always venerated Pope Leo XII because he admired his conciliatory attitude to foreign governments and his interest in education.

It was thought at the time that the more conservative cardinals voted for Pecci because they believed his age and health meant that his papacy would be brief, and they were trying to thwart other candidates they did not want to see elected.

However, during the next 25 years, Leo XIII worked to improve understanding between the church and the modern industrial world. He tried to reverse the trend towards an increasingly impoverished working class with socialist sympathies and anticlerical views, and he improved relations with Russia, Germany, France, and Britain. He also made the Catholic Church become more open to scientific progress.

An 1878 magazine illustration of
the Pecci house in Carpineto Romano

His 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed social inequality and social justice issues using papal authority, arguing that both capitalism and communism were flawed. 

He elevated the English Catholic theologian John Henry Newman to be a cardinal, along with creating the first cardinals from Australia, Canada, Slovenia, and Armenia.

After becoming ill in June 1903, Leo XIII died in the Apostolic Palace of pneumonia on July 20.

He was the first pope to have been born in the 19th century and the first to die in the 20th century. He had run the Catholic Church with efficiency and helped to gain more respect for the papacy at home and abroad. 

Leo XIII was entombed in Saint Peter’s Basilica briefly, but was later moved to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, a church in which he had been particularly interested.

When the American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as pope in 2025, he said one of the main reasons he chose Leo as his papal name was because of the social justice encyclical Rerum Novarum that had been written by Pope Leo XIII.

Piazza Regina Margherita has a fountain
dedicated to Pope Leo XIII

Travel tip:

Carpineto Romano, where Pope Leo XIII was born, is a small town in Lazio, about 37 miles (60km) southeast of Rome. There are still Roman ruins and medieval buildings to be seen, but it was made more splendid in the 16th century by the wealthy Aldobrandini family. It was a duchy under Donna Olimpia Aldobrandini, who played a significant role in its development. The town centre still has narrow cobblestone streets and some elegant palazzi with limestone doorways bearing Italian and Latin inscriptions. The Church of Saint John was significantly reworked while Leo XIII was Pope. It has a portal with bronze panels by the sculptor Tommaso Ambrosetti, who was from nearby Anagni. There is a fountain commemorating Leo XIII in Piazza Regina Margherita.  Carpineto Romano is situated in the Lepini mountains, offering views of the plains of Latina and the Sacco river valley.  The town attracts many visitors to the annual Pallio della Carriera festival, which re-enacts the splendour of the Aldobrandini era and includes a historical procession and a horse race, as well as stalls and exhibits highlighting the town's traditional cuisine.

The Basilica di San Domenico in Perugia has a
 bell tower that rises to almost 200ft (60m)

Travel tip:

Perugia, the capital of Umbria, where Pope Leo XIII spent more than 30 years as an archbishop, is a vibrant city that combines strong echoes of a significant history with an effervescent modern culture.  Standing atop a hill in the Tiber valley, in Etruscan times it was one of the most powerful cities of the period and its strategic position has made it a target for invading armies ever since. The city of today evolved around a fortified medieval village, at the heart of which is Piazza IV Novembre, which has a fountain, the Fontana Maggiore, sculpted by Nicolo and Giovanni Pisano.  The city’s imposing Basilica di San Domenico, built in the early 14th century also to designs by Giovanni Pisano, is the largest church in Umbria, with a distinctive 60m (197ft) bell tower and a 17th-century interior, designed by Carlo Maderno. It contains the tomb of Pope Benedict XI, who died in 1304. Nowadays, Perugia is term-time home to some 34,000 students at the University of Perugia and hosts the world-renowned Umbria Jazz Festival each July. Perugia is the home of the Perugina chocolate company, famous for Baci, which it celebrates with a chocolate festival each summer. 

Also on this day: 

1890: The birth of painter Giorgio Morandi

1937: The death of electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi

1959: The birth of racing driver Giovanna Amati

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Baldassare Cossa – Antipope

The colourful career of a pirate who became a pope

A 1713 depiction of John XXIII by
French printmaker Bernard Picart

Baldassare Cossa, who reigned as Pope for five years under the name of John XXIII, was deposed as pontiff on this day in 1419. Stripped of his powers, he had been accused of charges that included piracy, rape, and incest, but he was still later appointed Cardinal Bishop of Frascati by a subsequent pope, Martin V.

Cossa is now known in history as an Antipope, because he was appointed as John XXIII during the Western Schism, a split within the Catholic church in the 14th and 15th centuries. 

Bishops in Rome and Avignon, France, were simultaneously claiming to be the true Pope and were eventually joined by a line of Pisan claimants, from which Cossa was appointed.

The papacy had resided in Avignon since 1309, when Rome was wracked by political chaos and violence, but Pope Gregory XI returned it to Rome in 1377. The Catholic church split in September 1378, when, following Gregory XI's death and Urban VI’s subsequent election, a group of French cardinals declared the election invalid and elected Clement VII, who claimed to be the true pope. 

As Roman claimant, Urban VI was succeeded by Boniface IX, Innocent VII and Gregory XII. Meanwhile, Clement VII was succeeded as Avignon claimant by Benedict XIII.

Following several attempts at reconciliation, the Council of Pisa declared that both Gregory XII and Benedict XIII were illegitimate and elected a third pope, Alexander V. 

The Schism was finally resolved when Cossa, who succeeded Alexander V as John XXIII, was deposed, and Pope Martin V was elected.

Rome pope Gregory XII, whose papacy was
declared illegitimate by the Council of Pisa

Cossa had been born on the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples. After following a military career, he fought in a war on the side of Naples. It has been claimed that he started out in life as a pirate and that his two brothers were sentenced to death for piracy by King Ladislaus of Naples.

After studying Law at the University of Bologna, Cossa entered the service of Pope Boniface IX in 1392. 

He later became a canon and an archdeacon in Bologna and then Cardinal Deacon and a papal legate in Romagna. He is remembered as being unscrupulous and immoral and leading a depraved life, seducing countless women. It was also claimed he had links with local robber bands that were used to intimidate his rivals and attack carriages, and that these connections helped him achieve power and influence in the region.

As a Cardinal, he was a leading figure at the Council of Pisa that deposed Gregory XII and Benedict XIII, and elected Alexander V. Because both Gregory and Benedict ignored the council’s decision, it meant there were then three simultaneous claimants to the papacy.

Alexander V died while he was with Cossa in Bologna in 1410. Cossa was quickly ordained as a bishop and consecrated as Pope the following day, taking the name John XXIII.

The new pope made the Medici Bank the official bank of the papacy, which contributed considerably to the wealth of the family.

Cossa's tomb in the Battistero
di San Giovanni in Florence

John XXIII’s main enemy was King Ladislaus, who was still protecting the Roman claimant, Gregory XII, so he joined forces with Louis II of Anjou against him. But Ladislaus took Rome in 1413, forcing him to flee to Florence.

While in Florence, John XXIII met Sigismund of Luxembourg, who wanted to end the Schism and urged him to call for a General Council.  The resulting Council of Constance resolved that all three papal claimants should abdicate and a new pope should be elected. 

John XXIII escaped from Constance disguised as a postman. But he was later deposed by the council and tried in his absence on charges of piracy, rape, sodomy, murder, and incest. After he was caught in Germany and given up to Ludwig III Elector Palatine, he was imprisoned for a few months until a large ransom was paid for his release by the Medici.

Martin V then made Baldassare Cossa the Cardinal Bishop of Frascati, but Cossa died a few months later in 1419 in Florence. The Medici had a magnificent tomb created for him by Donatello and Michelozzo in the Battistero di San Giovanni, which was inscribed, ‘John the former pope’ - despite protests by Martin V.

After Angelo Roncalli from Bergamo was elected pope in 1958, there was confusion over whether he would be called John XXIII or John XXIV, but the new pope declared himself John XXIII to put the question to rest for good, and Baldassare Cossa is now remembered as Antipope John XXIII.

Procida's pretty harbour and waterfront, which is
notable for its houses painted in pastel colours

Travel tip:

Procida, the island off the coast of Naples where Antipope John XXIII was born, lies next to the larger island of Ischia and is just a short boat trip from Naples. Procida is less than 4km (2½ miles) long and 2km (1¼ miles) across at its widest point. It has a pretty seafront with yellow, white, and pink painted houses. The ferries arrive and depart from Marina di San Cattolico, where there is a tourist office and bars and restaurants. The small islet of Vivara is attached to the island by a walking bridge. No one lives there and it is now a nature reserve. Around Procida are dark sandy beaches suitable for sunbathing and swimming in the sea. The main church on the island is San Michele Arcangelo which has many old statues and religious paintings. On the main ceiling is Luca Giordano’s The Glory of San Michele. In the apse is Nicola Rosso’s painting San Michele Defending the Island, showing the saint with sword and shield above Procida, which is surrounded by shiploads of Turkish invaders.

Frascati's main church is the Cattedrale di
San Pietro, completed in the 18th century

Travel tip:

Frascati, where Antipope John XXIII was appointed as Cardinal Bishop, is an ancient, wine-producing city to the south of Rome. It has the feel of Rome, but it is on a smaller scale and life is at a less frantic pace. There are statues, fountains, and wonderful architecture, but it is easy to walk around in Frascati. It is said that Frascati’s eponymous white wine ‘non viaggia bene’ (does not travel well), which is all the more reason to drink it there, in quaint wine bars serving it cheaply by the glass. Villas built by wealthy Romans on the hills behind Frascati now lie in ruins, but there are elegant 16th and 17th century villas, such as the imposing Villa Aldobrandini, to look round. In the centre of Frascati, the 16th century Chiesa del Gesù has statues on the façade believed to be the work of Pietro da Cortona and frescoes inside by Andrea Pozzo. Piazza del Gesù leads into the larger Piazza San Pietro, where Frascati’s main church, Cattedrale di San Pietro stands. Inside the church is the tombstone of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender. He died while in exile in Rome and was first buried in Frascati’s cathedral, where his brother, Henry Benedict Stuart, Duke of York, was Bishop. In 1807 his body was moved to St Peter’s in Rome, but his heart was left in Frascati, in a small urn, under the floor below his monument. Within a few streets in Via dell’Olmo, is the Osteria dell’Olmo, one of Frascati’s oldest osterie, where you can taste Frascati wine and typical local dishes.

Also on this day:

Feast Day of Saint Bona of Pisa

1568: The birth of noblewoman Virginia de’ Medici

1926: The birth of Caterina di Francavilla, aka TV personality Katie Boyle

1931: The execution of anarchist Michele Schirru

2013: The death of actress and writer Franca Rame

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Cardinal Giulio Alberoni – statesman and gourmet

Priest loved power, wealth...and his local pasta

As a diplomat, Cardinal Alberoni became
the equivalent of prime minister of Spain

Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, who gained money and high position through representing the interests of France and Spain, and was also known for his love of good food, was born on this day in 1664 in Fiorenzuola D’Arda near Piacenza in the Duchy of Parma in Emilia-Romagna.

Alberoni had a career punctuated by highs and lows, but he accumulated vast personal wealth and his memory lives on because of two dishes that are still served in Piacenza.

The son of a gardener, Alberoni rose to become a statesman responsible for the revival of Spain’s fortunes during the War of the Spanish Succession, and he was made the papal legate of Ravenna and Bologna.

After being educated by the Jesuits, Alberoni took holy orders and was appointed a canon at Parma in 1698.

In 1702, the government of Parma sent him on a diplomatic mission to Louis-Joseph, Duc de Vendôme, commander of French forces in Italy during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was then taken by Vendôme to France as his secretary in 1706, and to Spain a few years later, although he continued to act as an agent of Parma.

After Vendôme’s death, Alberoni remained in Madrid as the official representative of Parma. His influence at the Spanish court increased and he negotiated the marriage of Philip V of Spain to Isabella Farnese, the daughter of the Duke of Parma.

Alberoni became the equivalent of a prime minister for Philip V, and he carried out administrative and fiscal reforms at the Spanish court. He brought in foreign craftsmen to boost industry, while reducing the powers of the councils made up of aristocrats who were against his reforms.

Pier Leone Ghezzi's painting of Pope Clement XI
conferring the cardinal's hat to Giulio Alberoni

His foreign policy was designed to drive the Austrians from Italy and to safeguard Spanish trade with the American colonies. But Spanish military expeditions to Sicily and Sardinia led to Spain having to go to war, and the defeat of Spanish forces during a French and British invasion of Spain, resulted in Alberoni being banished from the country in 1719.

Alberoni fled from Spain to Italy, but charges were laid against him by Spain in a bid to persuade the Pope to depose him as a Cardinal. However, he managed to avoid being arrested and took refuge in Austrian territory in Lombardy.

After Pope Clement XI died in 1721, Alberoni went to take part in the conclave that elected Pope Innocent XIII. He was briefly imprisoned in a monastery by the new pontiff to satisfy Spain, who had accused Alberoni of sodomy, but he was later cleared of the charges by his fellow cardinals.

When Pope Benedict XIII was elected in 1724, Alberoni was made a cardinal deacon and given the church of Sant’ Adriano al Foro. He was later made the cardinal priest of San Crisogono.

After he was named legate of Ravenna, Alberoni had Porta Alberoni built in the city as a gateway to the dockyards, but this has since been moved.

He later retired to live in Piacenza and the Pope named him administrator of the hospital of San Lazzaro, an institution originally founded for lepers. 

Coppa del Cardinale, named after Alberoni,
is a popular cured pork in Emilia-Romagna

As leprosy had almost disappeared in Italy by then, Alberoni obtained the Pope’s permission to suppress the hospital and use it as a seminary for the priestly education of poor boys, which he named Collegio Alberoni.

After his death in 1752, he left money to the seminary and the rest of his fortune to his nephew. The huge collection of art he had accumulated is now on show to the public in a gallery inside Collegio Alberoni.

His private correspondence was to reveal his love of food, as among his letters there are requests for local delicacies to be sent to him, such as truffles, salame, robiola cheeses, and a type of local pasta known as anolini.

At least two Piacenza dishes are named after him, the cured pork dish, Coppa del Cardinale, and the pasta dish Timballo Alberoni, which contains macaroni, shrimp sauce, mushrooms, butter and cheese.

Alberoni was buried inside the Church of Collegio Alberoni, to which he had bequeathed the sum of 600,000 ducati, a fortune at the time.

The 14th century Collegiata di San Fiorenzo
in Fiorenzuola D'Arda's Piazza Molinari

Travel tip:

Fiorenzuola D’Arda, where Alberoni was born into a humble family,  is a city in the province of Piacenza, which dates back to prehistoric times. One of its main sights is the 14th century church of Collegiata di San Fiorenzo in Piazza Molinari. The former Church of San Giovanni, which over the centuries has been used as a courthouse, barracks, and prison, now houses the town hall and municipal library. There is also a theatre named after the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. Typical local dishes include anolini pasta in broth with cheese, and cold cuts served with ‘gnocco fritto’ (fried dumplings). Fiorenzuola sits in Val d’Arda, which is home to some of the most beautiful castles in the whole of Emilia-Romagna, set against a backdrop of gently rolling hills.

Antonello da Messina's masterpiece
Ecco Homo in the Galleria Alberoni

Travel tip:

Piacenza is a city about 75km (45 miles) to the north east of Parma in Emilia-Romagna.  The main square in Piacenza is named Piazza Cavalli because of its two bronze equestrian monuments featuring Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, and his son Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma, who succeeded him. The statues are masterpieces by the sculptor Francesco Mochi. Collegio Alberoni still stands in Via Emilia Parmense in Piacenza. It is now a library, an historical and natural museum, and a seismological and weather observatory. Among the many works of art in Galleria Alberoni, which is inside the Collegio, is the masterpiece Ecce Homo by Antonello da Messina, and there are also many church furnishing objects and tapestries, which belonged to Cardinal Alberoni.

Also on this day:

1512: The death of tyrant ruler Pandolfo Petrucci

1910: The birth of Mafia boss Angelo Bruno

1972: Michelangelo’s Pietà damaged

1981: Propaganda Due suspects named

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Battle of Marino

Bloody fight that entrenched rival factions in Catholic Church

Robert of Geneva, rival
pope to Urban VI

Giacomo Orsini, a member of the Orsini family of Rome that produced five popes between the eighth and 18th centuries, stormed the Castle of Marino - in the area south of Rome known as the Castelli Romani - on this day in 1379, bringing a decisive conclusion to a military battle that would end any hopes that the 1378 split in the Catholic Church might be quickly resolved.

The Battle of Marino was fought between armies loyal to Pope Urban VI, the former Archbishop of Bari who had been elected as successor to Pope Gregory XI, and the antipope Clement VII, who had set up rival courts a year earlier following the split that became known as the Great Schism or Western Schism.

The papacy had only just been returned to Rome by Gregory XI from Avignon in France following a fragmentation that had occurred 70 years earlier but the election of Bartolomeo Prignano to rule as Urban VI reignited the division.

Urban VI was hostile toward the French cardinals who had gained significant power during the Avignon years and wanted the papal court to remain in the city in southeastern France.

Those cardinals, fearing that they would become marginalised, responded by declaring that Urban VI’s election was invalid due to having taken place in a climate of fear and instead elected Robert of Geneva to lead the church as Pope Clement VII.

The two rival factions assembled armies. The troops backing Urban VI were mainly Italian mercenaries under the command of Alberico da Barbiano, while the anti-papal army consisted of French mercenaries led by the Count of Montjoie.

The site of the Battle of Marino, fought to the 
south of Rome, as it looks in the present day

They faced each other in the Battle of Marino, fought in the valley east of the town that is now known as the Valley of the Dead, perhaps on account of the bloody battle fought there.

Victory went to the Italians, the battle concluded when the Castle of Marino - on the site of  which the Palazzo Colonna now stands - was besieged by papal troops. The fact that the castle was commanded by Giordano Orsini, a supporter of the antipope, yet the papal soldiers who took it on June 2, 1379 were led by Giordano's son Giacomo, illustrates how the split in the church also divided families. 

Following the defeat of his army, Clement VII, who had based himself in Anagni, 72km (45 miles) southeast of Rome, felt vulnerable and fled Anagni first for Sperlonga, then Gaeta, finally landing in  Naples.

He was received well by Queen Joanna I of Naples, who afforded him great respect, but in the streets he found himself confronted by angry mobs declaring their support for “Papa Urbano". He returned to Gaeta, where he boarded a ship that would ultimately take him to Avignon.

The Western Schism, also known as the Great Schism, would last from 1378 to 1417, a tumultuous period in which there were two - later three - rival popes, each claiming to be the legitimate pontiff.

The division was finally ended by The Council of Constance, which met over a period of four years between 1414 and 1418, eventually finding a mutually acceptable pope in Oddone Colonna, a Roman, who was elected as Pope Martin V. 

Via Roma in Marino, looking
 towards Palazzo Colonna

Travel tip:

Marino today is a town in Lazio, set among the Alban Hills, 21 km (13 miles) southeast of Rome, with a population of 37,684. It is bounded by the towns of Castel Gandolfo, Albano Laziale, Rocca di Papa, Grottaferrata, and Ciampino.  Marino is famous for its white wine, and for its Grape Festival, which has been celebrated since 1924.  Marino suffered extensive damage during World War Two. In 1944 it was heavily bombed by aircraft from the United States Air Force and in the spring of 1945 it was the scene of heavy fighting between troops of the British Indian Army and Axis troops which caused much of the city to be destroyed.  As well as the Palazzo Colonna, built on the site of the former castle, Marino's  main sights include the Basilica of San Barnaba, built in Baroque style, with an imposing façade dating to 1653. Among other works of art, it houses the Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew by Guercino and a bust of St. Anthony Abbot by Ercole Ferrata.

The former palace of Boniface VIII in the
town of Anagni, which has produced four popes

Travel tip:

Anagni is an ancient town in the province of Frosinone in Lazio, built on a hillI above the Sacco Valley, southeast of Rome. It is in an area known as Ciociaria, named after the primitive footwear - ciocie - favoured for many years by people living in the area. It was a papal residence in the Middle Ages and the birthplace of no fewer than four popes: Innocent III, Gregory IX, Alexander IV, and Boniface VIII. With the death of Boniface VIII, the power of the town declined. The mediaeval Palace of Boniface VIII is near the Cathedral. Among sights worth seeking out is the majestic cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata, built with a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles and completed in 1104, which stands out as a city’s symbol and seat of the local diocese, with a steeple about 30m (98ft) high. The crypt of San Magno is sometimes called the 'Sistine Chapel of the Middle Age', owing to its  fresco cycle with images telling about the genesis of the world, the creation of humans and their salvation, as well as the lives and miracles of the Saint and other martyrs.

Also on this day: 

1882: The death of unification hero Giuseppe Garibaldi

1957: The birth of cycle racer Roberto Visentini

Festa della Repubblica 

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Pope Innocent XII

Pontiff who banned nepotism in papal appointments 

A divided papal conclave elected Pope
 Innocent XII as a compromise candidate 

Pope Innocent XII, whose nine years as Pope at the end of the 17th century were notable for his ban on the practice of pontiffs appointing relatives to key positions in the papal court, was born Antonio Pignatelli on this day in 1615.

Innocent XII, who was elected Pope in July 1691 and led the Catholic Church until his death in September 1700, issued the papal bull entitled Romanum decet pontificem within a year of taking office, abolishing the position of Cardinal-Nephew in the church hierarchy.

Cardinal-Nephew as an office in the church had been officially recognised since 1566 but the practice of appointing family members had been used by a succession of popes since the Middle Ages to help them consolidate family power and wealth in an era when papal authority extended well beyond the confines of the church.

The practice gave rise to the use of the term nepotism to describe the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in any occupation or field. The word originates from cardinalis nepos, the Latin translation of cardinal nephew - cardinale nipote in Italian.

It was a practice Pignatelli was determined to stamp out, viewing it as an abuse of power, and he set out to build on the groundwork done by Pope Innocent XI between 1676 and 1689 but which his immediate predecessor, Pope Alexander VIII, had not advanced.

Pignatelli was born in Spinazzola, a town now in Puglia but then in the Kingdom of Naples, about 80km (50 miles) west of Bari. His aristocratic family included several Viceroys and ministers of the crown.  He was educated at the Collegio Romano in Rome where he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law.

Pope Innocent XII's tomb in 
Saint Peter's Basilica

He became an official of the court of Pope Urban VIII at the age of 20 and thereafter held a number of diplomatic roles including Inquisitor of Malta and Governor of Perugia. 

After he was ordained as a priest, he was made Titular Archbishop of Larissa. He subsequently served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland and later Austria. Pope Innocent XI appointed him as the Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio and then of Faenza. His final post before the papacy was  Archbishop of Naples. 

Pope Alexander VIII died in 1691, after which the conclave to select his successor was split between factions loyal to France, Spain and the broader Holy Roman Empire. After a five-month deadlock, Cardinal Pignatelli emerged as a compromise candidate and was crowned on July 15, when he was given possession of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

As well as outlawing the Cardinal-Nephew position, which meant that popes could not bestow estates, offices, or revenues on any relative, Innocent XII introduced other reforms.

These included economies in the way the church was run and improvements in the way the church administered justice. He also appointed Marcello Malpighi, a pioneer in the use of the microscope in medicine, as his personal physician and made him Professor of Medicine at the Sapienza University of Rome.

After a long period of ill health that caused him to miss a number of important engagements in 1700, Innocent XII died on September 27 of that year, to be succeeded by Pope Clement XI.

His tomb in Saint Peter's Basilica was sculpted by Filippo della Valle.

Via Acerenza is typical of the narrow, cobbled
streets that fan out from Spinazzola's main street

Travel tip:

Formerly part of Basilicata, the border of which is less than 5km away, Spinazzola has been part of Puglia since 1811.  It is a charming small town in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, with narrow cobblestone streets, traditional stone houses and a number of historic buildings, with Roman and Byzantine influences.  The countryside around it is particularly picturesque. Pope Innocent XII’s family owned a castle in the town but it fell into disrepair and was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. Some remains of a medieval city wall still exist, along with the 16th century mother church of San Pietro Apostolo and the first Templar hospital. Historic palaces include the Saracen Palace on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, one of the main streets through the town’s narrow historic centre.  The centre of the town’s social life is Piazza Plebiscito, a square at the junction of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Corso Umberto I.

Book your stay in Spinazzola with Booking.com

Rome's Collegio Romano, which Antonio Pignatelli
attended before becoming Pope, was built in 1582

Travel tip:

Rome’s Collegio Romano - the city’s Jesuit College - was established in 1551 by Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order. A new building was erected for the College, under the patronage of Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582. The building can be found in the central Pigna district of the city in a square now known as Piazza del Collegio Romano. It is currently used partly by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and partly by the Ennio Quirino Visconti high school.  Pigna takes its name from an enormous Roman bronze statue in the shape of a pine cone, which once adorned an ancient Roman fountain.  The sculpture was later moved to the Cortile del Belvedere at the Vatican Palace, where it stands alongside a pair of bronze Roman peacocks from Hadrian’s mausoleum. The area’s tourist attractions include the Pantheon, built in 118AD and considered to be Rome’s best preserved ancient building.

Accommodation in Rome from Booking.com

More reading:

Urban VIII, the pope whose extravagance led to disgrace

Why a 16th century Pope decreed that 10 days would not happen

The Pope who commissioned Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel

Also on this day: 

1853: The birth of actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta

1925: The birth of actor Corrado Gaipa

1955: The birth of footballer Bruno Conti

1960: The birth of rock musician Luciano Ligabue

1980: The birth of dancer Flavia Cacace

(Picture credits: tomb by Samuraijohnny; Via Acerenza by Forsehairagione; Collegio Romano by Lalupa; via Wikimedia Commons)

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Carlo Maria Martini – Cardinal

Liberal leanings prevented scholar’s elevation to the papacy

Carlo Maria Martini, a liberal within the Catholic
Church, lost out to papal rival Joseph Ratzinger 

Carlo Maria Martini, who was once a candidate to become pope, was born on this day in 1927 in Orbassano in the province of Turin.

As Cardinal Martini, he was known to be tolerant in areas of sexuality and strong on ecumenism, and he was the leader of the liberal opposition to Pope John Paul II. He published more than 50 books, which sold millions of copies worldwide.

Martini, who expressed views in his lifetime on the need for the Catholic Church to update itself, was a contender for the papacy in the 2005 conclave and, according to Vatican sources at the time, he received more votes than Joseph Ratzinger in the first round. 

But Ratzinger, who was considered the more conservative of the candidates, ended up with a higher number of votes in subsequent rounds and was elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Martini had entered the Jesuit order in 1944 when he was 17 and he was ordained at the age of 25, which was considered unusually early.

His doctoral theses, in theology at the Gregorian University and in scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, were thought to be so brilliant that they were immediately published.

After completing his studies, Martini had a successful academic career. He edited scholarly works and became active in the scientific field, publishing articles and books. He had the honour of being the only Catholic member of the ecumenical committee that prepared the new Greek edition of the New Testament. He became dean of the faculty of scripture at the Biblical Institute, was rector from 1969 to 1978, and then rector of the Gregorian University. 

In his later years, suffering from Parkinson's
disease, Martini moved to Jerusalem

In 1979, he was appointed Archbishop of Milan, which was considered unusual, as Jesuits are not normally named bishops. He was made a cardinal in 1983. 

He started the so-called ‘cathedra of non-believers’ in 1987, an idea he conceived with philosopher Massimo Cacciari. He held a series of public dialogues in Milan with agnostic, or atheist, scientists, and intellectuals about the reasons to believe in God.

He was presented with an honorary doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1996 and an award for Social Sciences in 2000. In the same year, Martini was admitted as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI was considering retirement, but was being urged against it by some of his confidants. By then, Martini was himself suffering from Parkinson’s disease and he encouraged the Pope to go ahead with his decision to retire.

After his own retirement, Martini moved to Jerusalem to continue his work as a biblical scholar. 

He died in Gallarate in the province of Varese in 2012. More than 150,000 people passed before his casket in the Duomo di Milano. The Italian Government was represented by Prime Minister Mario Monti and his wife. Martini was buried in a tomb on the left side of the cathedral facing the main altar.

Piazza Umberto I in Orbassano, overlooked by
the parish church of San Giovanni Battista

Travel tip:

Orbassano, the comune (municipality) where Martini was born, is about 13km (8 miles) southwest of Turin, falling within the Piedmont capital's municipal area. It can trace its history back to the Roman conquest of Cisalpine Gaul because two imperial era tombstones were found there in the 19th century. The Indian politician, Sonia Gandi, was brought up in Orbassano, although she was born near Vicenza. While studying at Cambridge, Sonia met Rajiv Gandi, who she married in 1968. The couple settled in India and had a family but he was assassinated in his home country in 1991.  Orbassano has a pleasant central square, the Piazza Umberto I, the site of the town's two main churches, the parish church of San Giovanni Battista and the Baroque church of the Confraternita dello Spirito Santo, in which the artworks include a Pentecost by Giovanni Andrea Casella from 1647 and a Madonna and saints by Michele Antonio Milocco from 1754.

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Liberty-style villas built by architect Carlo Moroni
and his partner, Filippo Tenconi, abound in Gallarate 

Travel tip:

Gallarate, where Martini died after he spent his final years living in a Jesuit house, is a small city in the province of Varese, about 42km (26 miles) northwest of Milan. It has a Romanesque church, San Pietro, which dates from the 11th century. In Piazza Garibaldi, where there is a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, there is an historic pharmacy, Dahò, where members of the Carbonari used to hide out during the 19th century.  Founded by the Gauls and later conquered by the Romans, Gallarate enjoyed prosperity under Visconti control in the 14th and 15th centuries, when the area's textile industry began to develop and grow. By the 19th and 20th centuries, it was an important industrial city, where thousands of workers were employed in Liberty-style factory buildings. The heavy industry has largely gone now, with high-tech businesses a features of the city's modern economy, but the architectural echoes remain. Piazza Garibaldi also features Casa Bellora, a Stile Liberty mansion commissioned by the local captain of industry, Carlo Bellora, who had factories in Gallarate, Somma, Albizzate, and in the Bergamo area, who hired the architect Carlo Moroni to build a house for his family.  Moroni and the engineer Filippo Tenconi combined to build numerous villas in what is known as the 'Liberty district' between Corso Sempione and the railway. 

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More reading:

How the first railway line in northern Italy sparked 19th century boom

Karol Wojtyla - the first non-Italian pope for 455 years

Carlo Maria Viganò, the controversial archbishop who shocked Catholic Church

Also on this day:

1564: The birth of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei

1898: The birth of comic actor Totò

1910: The birth of circus clown Charlie Cairoli

1944: Monte Cassino Abbey destroyed in WW2 bombing raid

(Picture credits: Main picture by Mafon1959; older Carlo Martini by RaminusFalcon; Piazza Umberto I by Simoneislanda; via Wikimedia Commons)

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Scipione Borghese – Cardinal and art collector

Pope’s nephew used position to acquire wealth to buy art

Ottavio Leoni's portrait of
Cardinal Scipione Borghese

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who was a patron of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Caravaggio and established a magnificent art collection during his life, was born on this day in 1576 in Artena, a town to the southeast of Rome

As the nephew of Pope Paul V,  Borghese was given the official title of Cardinal Nephew - cardinale nipote - and he had great power as the effective head of the Vatican government. He amassed an enormous fortune through the papal fees and taxes he gathered and he acquired vast amounts of land. He was able to use his immense wealth to assemble a large and impressive art collection.

Cardinal Borghese was the son of Francesco Caffarelli and Ortensia Borghese. When his father suffered financial difficulties, his uncle, Camillo Borghese, stepped in to pay for his education.

After Camillo Borghese was elected as Pope Paul V, he made his nephew a Cardinal and gave him the right to use the Borghese name and coat of arms.

Borghese was given many honours by his uncle, the Pope, who entrusted him with the management of the papal finances as well as the finances of the Borghese family.

He used money from the papal finances to fund Borghese family investments and, exploiting his power as Cardinal Nephew, he compelled people to sell their land to him at discounted prices.

Caravaggio's Madonna and
Child with Saint Anne

Borghese took a great interest in the development of the extensive gardens at his Roman residences, Palazzo Borghese, and Villa Borghese, and he built up one of the most impressive art collections in Europe. He collected paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Titian, as well as ancient Roman art.

The Pope gave Scipione a collection of 107 paintings that he had confiscated from the artist Cavalier d’Arpino when he did not pay a tax bill. The haul included two important, early works by Caravaggio, a probable self-portrait usually called Bacchino Malato - Sick Bacchus - and A Boy with a Basket of Fruit. He also organised the removal of Raphael’s Deposition from a church in Perugia to be given to his nephew. He was later forced to provide Perugia with two good copies of the painting in order to avoid the population of the city rising up in violent rebellion against him.

Borghese also appropriated Caravaggio’s Madonna and Child with Saint Anne, a large altarpiece which had been commissioned for a chapel in St Peter’s Basilica. It was suspected that he had planned to acquire it for his collection when the work was commissioned.

The Cardinal’s patronage of Bernini helped the artist become the leading Italian sculptor and architect of the 17th century in Italy.

Between 1618 and 1623, Bernini worked primarily for the Cardinal Nephew, creating innovative pieces that foreshadowed the early Baroque style. He produced two marble busts of his patron, which are both in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the second carved after Bernini found a flaw in the marble used for the first.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese died in Rome in 1633 and was buried in the Borghese chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

The Galleria Borghese is housed
in the Villa Borghese Pinciana

Travel tip:

The Villa Borghese Pinciana, built for Scipione Borghese by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, which now houses the Galleria Borghese, was originally intended as a party villa, where Scipione would entertain guests. The villa and the gardens surrounding it, developed on the site of a former vineyard, were acquired by the Italian state from the Borghese family in 1901 and opened to the public two years later. Generally known as the Villa Borghese Gardens, they now form the third largest public park in Rome, covering an area of 80 hectares or 197.7 acres, with entrances near the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo. The Pincio, in the south part of the park, offers one of the finest views over the city.  Other villas in the area of the park include the Villa Giulia, which now houses the Etruscan Museum, and the Villa Medici, home of the French Academy in Rome.  The Piazza di Siena, an open space within the gardens, hosted equestrian events at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

The main facade of the Palazzo Borghese, which
was the Borghese family's principal Rome residence

Travel tip:

The Palazzo Borghese, the original home of the family’s art collection, is notable for its unusual trapezoidal layout, having two parallel sides but two that are not parallel, with its narrowest facade facing the Tiber. It was the main seat of the Borghese family in Rome, situated in the Campo Marzio district, not far from the Ponte Cavour and about 600m (0.37 miles) on foot from the Spanish Steps. It was built in about 1560-61 by the architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola on behalf of Monsignor Tommaso del Giglio and acquired by Cardinal Camillo Borghese in 1604, shortly before he became Pope Paul V.  The first floor of the palace has been the home of the Embassy of Spain in Italy since 1947. The Borghese family’s art collection, which contained works by Raphael, Titian and many others, was transferred in 1891 to the Galleria Borghese.

Also on this day:

1878: The birth of conductor Tullio Serafin

1886: The birth of vaudeville star Guido Deiro

1922: The birth of actor Vittorio Gassman

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Vannozza dei Cattanei - popes’ mistress

Mother of Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia was figure of influence

Vannozza dei Cattanei hailed from
an aristocratic family in Mantua

Vannozza dei Cattanei, who was for many years the chief mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia - later Pope Alexander VI - was born on this day in 1442 in Mantua.

Herself from the aristocratic Candia family, Vannozza - baptised as Giovanna de Candia - grew up to be a beautiful woman but also a successful businesswoman, acquiring a number of osterie - inns - after she moved to Rome.

In 15th century Italy, it was not unusual for cardinals and popes to have mistresses, despite Holy Orders coming with a vow of celibacy.  Before her relationship with Rodrigo de Borgia, Vannozza allegedly was mistress to Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II and a rival to Borgia in the 1492 papal election that he won.

Rodrigo made no attempt to hide his sexual dalliances, acquiring the nickname Papa Cattivo - the naughty pope - not only for his promiscuity but his questionable morals in other areas, with allegations that he was involved in bribery and extortion on his rise to the top, and rumours that he poisoned some of his rivals.

Unusually, compared with other popes and cardinals who flouted the rules, Borgia openly acknowledged the children that Vannozza bore him during their relationship, which is thought to have lasted between 20 and 25 years, providing for them financially and having a significant influence over their lives.

The eldest, Cesare, born in 1475, became a cardinal and as leader of the Papal armies captured large amounts of territory that were added to the Pope’s empire.  Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, the treatise on power that was written as a kind of reference point for new princes and royals, was influenced by Cesare’s lust for power.

Pope Alexander VI is thought to have
fathered four children with Vannozza

Of the others, Giovanni - also known as Juan - became the second Duke of Gandia but was murdered at the age of 21, possibly by Cesare; Gioffre married the daughter of the King of Naples, which was advantageous to Rodrigo Borgia.

Lucrezia, meanwhile, was forced to marry three times to elevate Rodrigo’s own status and acquire land and wealth. She took lovers of her own and there were rumours that Giovanni was in fact her own son, the product of an affair with her father's chamberlain.

Vannozza herself had to agree to marriages arranged by Borgia, first to Domenico d'Arignano, an officer of the church, then Giorgio di Croce, for whom Borgia had procured a position as apostolic secretary, and later Carlo Canale, the warden of a papal jail.

Her relationship with Rodrigo Borgia is thought to have changed after she turned 40 and Borgia’s passion for her had diminished by the time he was elevated to Pope in 1492. The care of all her children was entrusted to others in Borgia’s circle, although she remained part of it herself as a sort of matriarchal figure and her former lover sought her counsel as Pope.

He continued to support her financially and by the time she died in 1518, at the age of 76, she had acquired a considerable portfolio of property around the city.

Vannozza outlived Rodrigo de Borgia by 15 years yet despite the nature of their relationship she was granted a public funeral, recognised by Pope Leo X as the widow of Alexander VI. She was buried in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, near her son, Giovanni, after a ceremony attended by the Papal Court. 

The skyline of Mantua has changed little since it
was the Renaissance seat of the Gonzaga family

Travel tip:

The small, historic city of Mantua in Lombardy, which can be found approximately 150km (93 miles) southeast of Milan along the Po Valley, is flanked on three sides by artificial lakes created in the 123th century as the city’s defence system, filled with water from the Mincio river, a tributary of the Po. There was a fourth lake, which meant the city was once surrounded by water, but it dried up in the 18th century and never replenished. It was traditionally the seat of the Gonzaga family, who established a court with a heavy emphasis on music, art and culture. The city has a number of architectural treasures and elegant palaces, while the skyline of its historic old centre has changed little since Renaissance times. At its heart is Piazza Mantegna, where the 15th century Basilica of Sant’Andrea houses the tomb of the artist, Andrea Mantegna. Inside the Palazzo Ducale, the seat of the Gonzaga family between 1328 and 1707, the Camera degli Sposi is decorated with frescoes by Mantegna.

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo is in Piazza
del Popolo, adjoining Porta del Popolo

Travel tip:

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo is a minor basilica in Rome that stands on the north side of Piazza del Popolo, hemmed in between the Pincian Hill and Porta del Popolo, one of the gates in the Aurelian Wall, its position making it the first church encountered by many travellers arriving in the city. The original church was founded by Pope Paschal II in 1099. The existing structure was built largely between 1472 and 1477 as part of an urban renovation programme instigated by Pope Sixtus IV. A trio of great architects - Andrea Bregno, Donato Bramante and Gian Lorenzo Bernini - contributed to its design and are among those whose works can be found inside, along with Raphael, Caravaggio, Alessandro Algardi, Pinturicchio and Guillaume de Marcillat. 

Also on this day:

1478: The birth of Giulio d’Este of Ferrara 

1814: The founding of the Carabinieri police force

1928: The birth of Mafia mobster and ‘pentito’ Tommaso Buscetta 

1974: The birth of racing driver Jarno Trulli

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