71-452: Viterbo ( Italian: [viˈtɛrbo] ; Viterbese : Veterbe ; Medieval Latin : Viterbium ) is a city and comune (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy , the capital of the province of Viterbo . It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium ) in its early history. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of GRA ( Rome ) on
142-570: A 16th-century palazzo on Via Cavour. Viterbo is twinned with: Central Italian Central Italian ( Italian : dialetti mediani “central dialects”) refers to the indigenous varieties of Italo-Romance spoken in much of Central Italy . In the early Middle Ages, the Central Italian area extended north into Romagna and covered all of modern-day Lazio . Some peripheral varieties have since been assimilated into Gallo-Italic and Southern Italo-Romance respectively. In addition,
213-738: A cardinal, and who was not even in Italy, but in the Holy Land on crusade. He traveled with the Curia to France in 1273, and was present at the Ecumenical Council of Lyons. He was not one of the cardinals in the suite of Pope Gregory X when he left Lyons in 1275 to return to Rome, nor was he at Arezzo where the Pope died on 10 January 1276, before reaching the city. He did not attend the first conclave which began on 20 January 1276, and concluded
284-524: A completion, and Charles swore his oath of fealty to Pope John on 7 October 1276. It appeared that his reign was going to be a successful one, when one day in mid-May 1277, while the Pope was in a new room which he had just had built in the Episcopal Palace in Viterbo, suddenly the roof caved in. There was nothing suspicious about this, since the palace had been under construction since 1268 and
355-470: A firm papal suzerainty over the city. The last Di Vico to hold power in Viterbo was Giacomo, who was defeated in 1431. Thenceforth Viterbo became a city of secondary importance, following the vicissitudes of the Papal States. In the 16th century it was the birthplace of Latino Latini . It became part of Italy in 1871. In 1927 Viterbo was made a provincial capital . During World War II Viterbo
426-627: A frequent feature of medieval houses. The San Pellegrino quarter has an abundance of them, reflecting an architectural style that is unique to the town and the nearby region. In the valley of the Arcione River just to the west of Viterbo are a number of springs celebrated for the healing qualities of their waters, and in use since Etruscan and Roman days. In fact, the imposing ruins of a great Roman bath are still to be seen and were drawn in plan and perspective by Renaissance artists including Giuliano da Sangallo , Michelangelo , and Vasari . One of
497-554: A population of almost 60,000. In 1207, Pope Innocent III held a council in the cathedral, but the city was later excommunicated as the favourite seat of the heretical Patarines and even defeated by the Romans. In 1210, however, Viterbo managed to defeat Emperor Otto IV and was again at war against Rome. In the thirteenth century it was ruled alternately by the tyrants of the Gatti and Di Vico families. Frederick II drew Viterbo to
568-531: A range of 1400m until the bomb could be disposed of. Viterbo experiences a hot-summer mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). The annual average temperature is 14.5 °C (58.1 °F), the hottest month in August is 24.4 °C (75.9 °F), and the coldest month is 6.4 °C (43.5 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 869.93 millimetres (34.25 in), of which November
639-622: A seignory extending to Civitavecchia , Tarquinia , Bolsena , Orvieto , Todi , Narni and Amelia . His dominion was crushed by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz in 1354, sent by the Avignonese popes to recover the Papal States, who built the castle. In 1375, the city gave its keys to Francesco Di Vico , son of the previous tyrant, but thirteen years later the people killed him and assigned the city first to Pope Urban VI , and then to Giovanni di Sciarra di Vico , Francesco's cousin. But Pope Boniface IX 's troops drove him away in 1396 and established
710-750: A six-month vacancy in the Holy See resolved in the papal election of 1277, largely through family influence. The future pope, Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was born in Rome , a member of the prominent Orsini family of Italy, the eldest son of Roman nobleman Matteo Rosso Orsini by his first wife, Perna Caetani . His father was Lord of Vicovaro , Licenza , Cantalupo , Roccagiovine , Galera , Fornello , Castel Sant'Angelo di Tivoli , Nettuno , Civitella , Bomarzo , San Polo and Castelfoglia , of Nerola from 1235; Lord of Mugnano , Santangelo and Monterotondo ; Senator of Rome 1241–1243. His brother Giordano
781-464: A strenuous ascension up to the Piazza di Santa Rosa, its final resting place. Each Macchina's lifespan differs, but contests for a new design are held every few years. The Rome Viterbo Airport was opened in 1936 as part of Viterbo Air Force Base , located 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the town. On 26 November 2007, Italian transport minister Alessandro Bianchi announced that Viterbo had been chosen as
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#1732765744573852-405: A thermal hospital in 1927, the building was blown up by retreating German forces in 1944. Despite all the travails, much of the original Bagno del Papa built by Popes Nicholas V and Pius II survives, including the corner towers and the vaulted chambers where Renaissance patrons once bathed. Viterbo became a centre of military aviation due to its proximity to Rome , especially after the opening of
923-518: Is made of iron, wood and papier-mâché . At the top of the tower, the statue of the patron saint is enthusiastically acclaimed by the people in the streets of the town centre, where lights are turned off for the occasion. One hundred Viterbesi men (known as the Facchini ) carry the Macchina from Porta Romana through each of the major streets of Viterbo to seven churches to be blessed, concluding with
994-456: Is that she helped to eradicate those few who supported the emperors instead of the popes, around 1250. Saint Lawrence is the male patron saint. The transport of the Macchina di Santa Rosa takes place every year, on 3 September, at 9 o'clock in the evening. The Macchina is an artistic illuminated bell-tower with an imposing height of 30 m. It weighs between 3.5 and 5 tonnes and
1065-462: Is the wettest with 127.09 millimetres (5.00 in), while July is the driest with only 30.64 millimetres (1.21 in). Viterbo's historic center is one of the best preserved medieval towns of central Italy. Many of the older buildings (particularly churches) are built on top of ancient ruins, recognizable by their large stones, 50 centimeters to a side. Viterbo is unique in Italy for its concentration of 'profferli', external staircases that were
1136-525: The Area Mediana and Area Perimediana respectively. ( Area Mediana may also be used in a broader sense to refer to both zones.) Pellegrini's Carta dei dialetti d’Italia features the following divisions: Except for its southern fringe, the Area Mediana is characterized by a contrast between the final vowels /u/ and /o/ , which distinguishes it from both the Area Perimediana (to
1207-573: The Ghibbelines and Alexander was repeatedly driven out by unruly mobs. Rome was home again until the end of May, 1257, until the summer vacation at Viterbo began. The vacation lasted until the end of October, 1258, when the Court visited Anagni again; they stayed until the beginning of November, 1260. The Pope then was able to reside at the Lateran until the first week of May, 1261, when the Court
1278-480: The Ghibelline side in 1240, but when the citizens expelled his turbulent German troops in 1243 he returned and besieged the city, but in vain. From that point Viterbo was always a loyal Guelph city. Between 1257 and 1261 it was the seat of Pope Alexander IV , who also died there. His successor Urban IV was elected in Viterbo. In 1266–1268, Clement IV chose Viterbo as the base of his ruthless fight against
1349-613: The Hohenstaufen . Here, from the loggia of the Papal Palace , he excommunicated the army of Conradin of Swabia which was passing on the Via Cassia , with the prophetical motto of the "lamb who is going to the sacrifice". Other popes elected in Viterbo were Gregory X (1271) and John XXI (1276) (who died in the papal palace when the ceiling of the recently built library collapsed on him while he slept), Nicholas III and
1420-524: The Lateran Palace and the Vatican at enormous cost, and erected a beautiful country house at Soriano nel Cimino near Viterbo , where he died of a cardiovascular event (sources differ on whether it was a heart attack or a stroke ). Nicholas III, though a man of learning noted for his strength of character, was known for his excessive nepotism. He elevated three of his closest relatives to
1491-523: The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem , who, since 1255, was Papal Legate with the Crusade in the Holy Land. He became Pope Urban IV , and was crowned at Viterbo on 4 September 1261. Cardinal Orsini was named General Inquisitor by Urban IV on November 2, 1262, the first known Grand Inquisitor . Cardinal Orsini attended the first Conclave of 1268–1271 , and was one of the cardinals who signed
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#17327657445731562-462: The Via Cassia , and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and Monti Volsini . The historic center is surrounded by the medieval walls of Viterbo , which are still mainly intact, built during the 11th and 12th centuries. Entrance to the walled center of the city is through ancient gates. Apart from agriculture, Viterbo's main resources are pottery, peperino stone, and wood. The town is home to
1633-424: The dialect of Rome has undergone considerable Tuscanization from the fifteenth century onwards, such that it has lost many of its Central Italian features. (The speech of the local Jewish community was less affected.) The Central Italian dialect area is bisected by isoglosses that roughly follow a line running from Rome to Ancona (see map). The zones to the south and north of this line are sometimes called
1704-539: The popes switched to the Frankish support, Viterbo became part of the Papal States . Still, this status was to be highly contested by the emperors in the following centuries, until 1095 when it was known as a free comune (municipality). In a period in which the popes had difficulties asserting their authority over Rome, Viterbo became their favourite residence, beginning with Pope Eugene III (1145–1146) who
1775-579: The Air Force base (now the Rome Viterbo Airport but still used for military purposes) during the 1930s. The Army Aviation Command headquarters and training school ( Italian : Scuola marescialli dell'Aeronautica Militare ) are both located there. The Army's NCO training establishment ( Italian : Scuola sottufficiali dell'Esercito Italiano ) is also located in the city. St. Rose is the patron saint of Viterbo. The legend of Santa Rosa
1846-618: The Angevins. Nicholas' prime goal was to loosen Charles I's grip on the Papacy, Rome, and the lands of the Church. Nicholas' pontificate, though brief, was marked by several important events. He greatly strengthened the papal position in Italy. On 1 October 1273, Rudolph I of Habsburg, the godson of Frederick II, had been elected King of Germany and King of the Romans. Pope Gregory X had recognized him as King, after some hard negotiation, but
1917-647: The Bagno della Crociata (named either after a Crusader who supposedly discovered the spring or from a corruption of the Italian word for crutch). Early 15th-century documents describe a bath building that covered three distinct thermal springs all under one roof. This bath house was transformed circa 1454 by the Pope Nicholas V , who commissioned a bath palace (according to Nicholas's biographer, Giannozzo Manetti ) "with such magnificence and with such expense that it
1988-648: The Conclave, in which position he is said to have been rigorous, but understandably partisan in favor of the French faction. Cardinal Ottobono Fieschi of Genoa was elected on July 11 and chose the name Pope Adrian V . He lived only thirty-nine days longer, dying at Viterbo, where he had gone to meet King Rudolf and avoid the summer heat of Rome. According to Bernardus Guidonis, he was never ordained priest, consecrated bishop or crowned pope ( nondum promotus in sacerdotem nec coronatus nec consecratus ). His one memorable act
2059-520: The Curia continued to live in Naples, until the first week of June 1255 when they returned to Anagni, and it was not until mid-November that the Pope was back in Rome. There the Curia stayed until the end of May, 1256, when it was off to Anagni for the summer, until the beginning of December. The problem was that Rome was in the hands of Senator Brancaleone degli Andalo , Count of Casalecchio , since 1252, and
2130-612: The French Martin IV . The Viterbese, who did not agree with the election of a foreigner directed by the King of Naples , Charles I of Anjou , invaded the cathedral where the conclave was held, arresting two of the cardinals. They were subsequently excommunicated, and the popes avoided Viterbo for 86 years. Without the popes, the city fell into the hands of the Di Vicos . In the fourteenth century, Giovanni di Vico had created
2201-663: The Italian gold reserves, an important Academy of Fine Arts, the University of Tuscia , and the Italian Army 's Aviation Command headquarters and training centre. It is located in a wide thermal area, attracting many tourists from all over central Italy. The first report of the new city dates to the eighth century AD, when it is identified as Castrum Viterbii . It was fortified in 773 by the Lombard King Desiderius in his vain attempt to conquer Rome. When
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2272-527: The Papacy. Frederick was repeatedly excommunicated by one pope after another. In order to drive off the Hohenstaufen, the Papacy contrived a deal with the brother of Louis IX of France, Charles of Anjou , Count of Provence, who was invited to Italy to assume the crown of Sicily and be a counterweight against the Empire. He was too successful, however, and the Papacy found itself in the deadly embrace of
2343-570: The Papal Court resided continuously until April 1253. The Curia returned to Rome in mid-October, where Pope and Curia resided continually until the end of April, 1254. In May they went on pilgrimage to Assisi , then visited Anagni , where the Court stayed from June until the second week in October, when they went off in pursuit of Manfred , Hohenstaufen regent of the Kingdom of Sicily. At
2414-401: The architect of the project in Viterbo. There is, however, no documentation or architectural evidence to connect Rossellino directly with the construction of the Bagno del Papa. To the contrary, Vatican payment records from 1454, preserved in the state archives in Rome, identify a stonemason from Lombardy, named Stefano di Beltrame, as the builder who "had done or was doing in the house ordered by
2485-571: The beginning of December, the Battle of Foggia took place, and the papal army was routed. Innocent IV died in Naples , where he had taken refuge, on 7 December 1254, and the meeting to elect his successor was therefore held in Naples in the palace in which he had died. Voting began on Friday, 11 December, with ten of the twelve cardinals present, but no candidate received the required votes. But on Saturday, 12 December, Cardinal Rinaldo dei Conti di Segni ,
2556-478: The beginning of September in Viterbo, where Adrian V had died. The opening ceremonies, which should have taken place on August 29, had to be delayed for several days because of the riotous behavior of the people of Viterbo. Since Pope Adrian had created no new cardinals, the number of cardinals was twelve; Cardinal Simon de Brion was still in France, serving as Papal Legate. Once the tumults had been put down, however,
2627-470: The building. Travelers' descriptions, etched views, and local guidebooks chronicle the fate of the Renaissance Bagno del Papa over the years and through several rebuildings resulting in a general assumption that most of the original 15th-century structure had vanished. A guide to Viterbo from 1911 does note that some remnants were still to be detected in basement piers and vaults. In operation as
2698-459: The cardinalate and gave others important positions. This nepotism was lampooned both by Dante and in contemporary cartoons, depicting him in his fine robes with three "little bears" ( orsetti , a pun on the family name) hanging on below. Nicholas III created nine cardinals in one consistory celebrated on 12 March 1278: Most of these new Cardinals were not of the French party, and among them were five members of religious orders. Two died before
2769-527: The cardinals did their business quickly. On September 8, 1276, the senior Cardinal-Bishop, Peter Julian of Lisbon, was elected on the first ballot. He chose to be called John XXI , and on September 20 he was crowned at the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Viterbo by Cardinal Giovanni Caetano Orsini. Since John XXI was already a bishop, there was no ordination or consecration necessary. He was the fourth pope of 1276. On 18 October, Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini
2840-422: The conclusion of ten years of tenure, as well as the position of Papal Vicar for Tuscany. In July 1278, Nicholas III issued an epoch-making constitution for the government of Rome, Fundamenta militantis which forbade foreigners from taking civil office. It depends for its justification not only on the biblical phrase, "Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam" ( Matthew 16:18), but also on
2911-516: The corners of its southern façade. Located outside Viterbo, the spa would have been an easy target for assaults had the building not assumed a militant character, which also affirmed papal authority. Aside from the regal apartments described by Manedtti there were vaulted chambers at the lowest level to accommodate the patrons of the several thermal springs. Manetti and Vasari both named the Florentine architect and sculptor Bernardo Rossellino as
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2982-448: The following. Many of them shared with Southern Italo-Romance. Sound-changes with a limited distribution within the Area Mediana include: In the north of the Area Perimediana , a number of Gallo-Italic features are found: The following changes to final vowels are found in the Area Perimediana : Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III ( Latin : Nicolaus III ; c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini ,
3053-499: The forged Donations of Constantine. Nicholas' father had been a personal friend of Francis of Assisi , and he himself had to focus much of his attention on the Franciscan order. More than 165 of his bulls and letters address the subject. Most importantly, he issued the papal bull Exiit qui seminat on 14 August 1279, to settle the strife within the order between the parties of strict and relaxed observance. He repaired
3124-502: The imperial title and coronation were withheld. Pope Nicholas was willing to negotiate, but he refused to crown Rudolf as Emperor until Rudolph had acknowledged all the claims of the Church, including many that were quite dubious. The concordat with Rudolph I of Habsburg was concluded in May 1278. In it the city of Bologna, the Romagna , and the exarchate of Ravenna were guaranteed to
3195-579: The letter of complaint against the authorities and people of Viterbo for their treatment of the cardinals and the Curia . He was one of the six cardinals who were chosen by the rest of the Sacred College on September 1, 1271, to select a compromise candidate for election as pope. He was therefore instrumental in bringing to the papal throne the Archdeacon of Liège , Teobaldo Visconti , who was not
3266-546: The most famous were the thermal springs known as the "Bullicame", or bubbling place, whose reputation had even reached the ears of the exiled poet Dante Alighieri . Canto 14 (lines 79–81) of Dante's Inferno describes how: In silence we had reached a place where flowed a slender watercourse out of the wood—a stream whose redness makes me shudder still. As from the Bullicame pours a brook whose waters are then shared by prostitutes , so did this stream run down across
3337-458: The name Nicholas III. The new pope set out immediately for Rome. He was ordained a priest on December 18, consecrated a bishop on December 19, and crowned on the Feast of S. Stephen, 26 December. His election portended serious difficulties, for he was not a candidate of King Charles of Sicily. Quite the contrary, he believed that King Charles had entirely too much influence in church affairs and in
3408-413: The nephew of Pope Gregory IX , who had a reputation of a conciliator, was elected pope. He chose to be called Alexander IV and was crowned on Sunday, December 20, 1254, in the Cathedral of Naples . As for Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, in his first eleven and a half years as a cardinal, he had only spent six months in the city of Rome. A peripatetic Curia had its disadvantages. Pope Alexander IV and
3479-708: The next Conclave, which was to take place on the death of Nicholas III in 1280, and the rest had to be terrorized into voting for a candidate of Charles I of Sicily. Pope Nicholas III was stricken ill quite unexpectedly. The Curia was residing at the time in the city of Viterbo. Pope Nicholas was at his country retreat at Castro Soriano. According to the Chronicon Parmense he was suddenly deprived of consciousness and movement ( privatus subito omni sensu et motu ). Bartholomeus (Ptolemy) of Lucca says, subito factus apoplecticus, sine loquela moritur ('suddenly stricken with apoplexy, he died without speaking'). Nicholas
3550-517: The next day with the election of Peter of Tarantaise, who became Pope Innocent V . Pope Innocent V (Peter of Tarantaise) died in Rome at the Lateran, on 22 June 22, 1276. The second Conclave of 1276 began, therefore, according to the rules set down by Pope Gregory X, on July 2. Thirteen cardinals were present, including Giovanni Gaetano Orsini. King Charles I of Sicily acted as the Governor of
3621-531: The north) and from Southern Italo-Romance (to the south). Compare the words [ˈkreːto] and [ˈtittu] in the dialect of Spoleto (from Latin crēdō , tēctum ‘I believe’, ‘roof’). Most of the Area Mediana shows voicing of plosives after nasal consonants , as in [manˈt̬ellu] ‘cloak’, a feature shared with neighbouring Southern Italo-Romance. In the Area Mediana are found the following vocalic phenomena: Sound-changes (or lack thereof) that distinguish most or all of Central Italian from Tuscan include
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#17327657445733692-657: The operation of the Papal States. The lands under direct papal rule were threatened by surrounding powers. In the second quarter of the 13th century, they were threatened by the expansionist policies of the Emperor Frederick II, who aimed to unite his inheritance in the south (Sicily and southern Italy) with his acquisition of the Holy Roman Empire in northern Italy . He spent a great deal of time and energy attempting to gain control over Lombardy and Tuscany, which brought him into direct conflict with
3763-562: The papacy. According to the chronographer Bartholomew of Lucca (Ptolemy of Lucca), he discussed with Rudolph, in general terms at least, the splitting the Holy Roman Empire into four separate kingdoms – Lombardy , Burgundy , Tuscia and Germany – where Rudolph's kingdom would be made hereditary and he himself would be recognized as Holy Roman Emperor . Nicholas III was even able to persuade King Charles I of Naples and Sicily to give up his position as Roman Senator in 1278, at
3834-416: The pope at the bagni della Grotta and Crociata of Viterbo." Construction at the Bagno del Papa was continued on through the reigns of several popes after Nicholas V. The Vatican accounts mention of payments "for building done at the bath palace of Viterbo" during the reigns of Calixtus III , Paul II , and Sixtus IV . There also is evidence Pope Pius II was responsible for the addition of a western wing to
3905-721: The pope had been poisoned. Dante , in The Inferno (of the Divine Comedy ), talks briefly to Nicholas III, who was condemned to spend eternity in the Third Bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell, reserved for those who committed simony , the ecclesiastical crime of paying for offices or positions in the hierarchy of a church. In Dante's story, the Simoniacs are placed head-first in holes, flames burning on
3976-545: The revocation was un canonical . These were probably the same troublemakers in the Curia who had instigated the disturbances that delayed the Conclave. John XXI immediately struck back, on 30 September 1276, making it perfectly clear that the suspension had taken place and that it was valid. Ptolemy of Lucca states that the issue of this bull of revocation by John XXI was made at the suggestion of Cardinal Giovanni Caetano Orsini. The negotiations which Cardinal Giovanni Caetano had been engaged in with King Charles I were brought to
4047-563: The sand. Not far from the Bullicame, whose waters were apparently always taken in the open, is the Terme dei Papi ("Bath of the Popes"). Almost totally concealed within the structure of a modern luxury spa hotel are the remains of a Renaissance bath palace that attracted the attention of two popes. Actually, the origins of this bathing establishment date to the Middle Ages when it was known as
4118-572: The site of the next airport in Lazio to serve Rome. However, in 2013 those plans were abandoned. Viterbo is served by regional trains departing from Station Ostiense, Trastevere, S. Pietro and sometimes at Termini in Rome. Porta Romana is the station serving the old city center. The city is home to the Tuscia University , established in 1979. It is also the city where students of School Year Abroad 's Italy program study, their school housed in
4189-660: The summer of 1244, he was one of five cardinals who fled to Genoa with Pope Innocent IV. He was at Lyons , and was present in June and July for the Ecumenical Council of Lyons . Cardinal Orsini and the Curia did not return to Italy until May 1251—after the death of Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen . After spending the summer in Genoa , Milan and Brescia , they finally reached Perugia in November 1251, where
4260-544: Was a legal professional or a theologian. He never became a priest, until he became pope in 1277. Giovanni Gaetano Orsini was one of a dozen men created a cardinal by Pope Innocent IV (Sinibaldo Fieschi) in his first Consistory for the creation of cardinals, on Saturday, May 28, 1244, and was assigned the Deaconry of San Nicola in Carcere . He was a Canon and Prebendary of York, and also of Soissons and Laon. In
4331-506: Was appointed Archpriest of St. Peter's, in place of Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi, who had recently died, and who may have been too ill to participate in the Conclave or the Coronation. Pope Adrian V's suspension of the regulations of Gregory X, however imperfect they may have been, was under attack. Some critics even claimed that the cardinals who vouched for the truth of the suspension, including Cardinal Peter Julian, were liars, or that
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#17327657445734402-406: Was besieged in vain in the city walls. In 1164, Frederick Barbarossa made Viterbo the seat of his antipope Paschal III . Three years later, he called it a "city" and used its militias against Rome. In 1172, Viterbo started its expansion, destroying the old city of Ferento and conquering other lands. In this age it was a rich and prosperous comune , one of the most important of Central Italy, with
4473-636: Was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, been made Cardinal-Deacon of St. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), protector of the Franciscans by Pope Alexander IV (1254–61), inquisitor-general by Pope Urban IV (1261–64), and succeeded Pope John XXI (1276–77) after
4544-612: Was named Cardinal Deacon of San Eustachio by Nicholas III on 12 March 1278. His brother Gentile became Lord of Mugnano, Penna, Nettuno and Pitigliano. Another brother, Matteo Rosso of Montegiordano, was Senator of Rome (probably) in 1279, War Captain of Todi , and Podestà of Siena in 1281. There were five other younger brothers and two sisters. The Orsini family had already produced several popes: Stephen II (752–757), Paul I (757–767) and Celestine III (1191–1198). He did not, as some scholars used to think, study at Paris—though his nephew did. His career shows no indication that he
4615-420: Was not an easy conclave. Three of the electors belonged to the Angevin faction, and three opposed it. The only surviving Cardinal-Bishop, the Benedictine Bertrand de Saint Martin, wavered back and forth, providing little leadership. The Conclave therefore went on for more than five and a half months. Finally, on the Feast of S. Catherine, 25 November 1277, Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini was elected. He chose
4686-416: Was not only deemed suitable for a stay and salutary for the sick but seemed an edifice destined to have rooms fit for princes and for living regally". A more precise description of Pope Nicholas' palace was described by the Viterbese chronicler Niccola della Tuccia in the 1470s, who stated the new Bagno del Papa as a battlemented building, resembling a fortress, about 30 x 20 m in size with high towers at
4757-423: Was occupied by the Wehrmacht after the Armistice of Cassibile and heavily bombed by the Allies , suffering over twenty raids between July 1943 and June 1944; this left a third of the city destroyed or badly damaged, and caused heavy damage to cultural heritage and 1,017 civilian deaths. On 20 March 2024, an unexploded MK IV Bomb was found in a construction site causing an evacuation of more than 30,000 people in
4828-414: Was off to Viterbo again. Alexander IV died at Viterbo on 25 May 1261. Nineteen months were spent in Rome, out of a total of seventy-eight. Alexander had created no new cardinals, and so the Electoral meeting following his death had only eight participants. The Election was a long-drawn-out one, lasting from 25 May to 29 August 1261. Unable to agree on one of themselves, the Cardinals chose Jacques Pantaléon ,
4899-410: Was still being worked on. The Pope was severely injured from the falling stones and timber. He lingered in pain for several days (three, or six), and died on 20 May 1277, exactly eight months after his coronation. He had named no cardinals. Yet another Conclave took place in Viterbo, therefore, with seven cardinals in attendance. Cardinal Simon de Brion was still in France as papal legate. But this
4970-821: Was to suspend the Constitution of Gregory X " Ubi periculum " which regulated conclaves. He intended, on the advice of his cardinals, to improve Gregory's regulations. Cardinal Orsini was present at the discussion and decision. Shortly after his accession, moreover, Pope Adrian V had wanted King Charles I of Sicily to come to Viterbo to carry out the usual fealty , and sent the Suburbicarian Bishop of Sabina (Bertrand de Saint Martin); Cardinal Giovanni (Orsini), Cardinal Deacon of Saint Nicholas in Carcere Tulliano; and Cardinal Giacomo (Savelli), Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin , to effect his wishes. Charles arrived in Viterbo from Rome on July 24. Unfortunately, Pope Adrian died, on August 18, leaving his negotiations with King Charles unfinished. The third Conclave of 1276 began at
5041-439: Was unable to make his confession, and died at his palace at Castro Soriano, in the diocese of Viterbo, on 22 August 1280. He had been pope for two years, eight months, and twenty-eight days. His remains were taken to Rome, where he was buried in the Vatican Basilica, in the Chapel of S. Nicholas. There was an alternative story circulating, as was frequently the case in the sudden deaths of medieval and renaissance popes—that
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