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Giovanni dei Conti di Poli (died 1 August 1332), sometimes shortened to Giovanni Conti or anglicized John of Conti, was an Italian nobleman and
Dominican friar who served successively as the
(1299–1312) and
(1299–1312) and archbishop of Nicosia (1312–1332).
Family and early life
Born in the latter half of the 13th century, Giovanni was the third son of Pietro di Giovanni di Poli and Giacoma, daughter of Ottone Colonna. His parents belonged to two powerful families, his father to the
Conti
Conti is an Italian surname.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 63.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Conti'' were residents of Italy (frequency 1:756), 11.8% of the United States (1:24,071), 9.2% of Brazil (1:17,439), 6.3% of Argentina ...
and his mother to the Colonna family">Colonna
The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...
. He was a cousin of Cardinal Pietro Colonna. His eldest brother, Stefano, was the lord of Lunghezza and the Summus Senator, senator of Rome under Popes
Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
and
John XXII
Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334.
He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...
. He entered the Dominican Order and passed his novitiate in
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
. He studied at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
and was a lecturer at
Orvieto
Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
and
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
. He was elected
provincial
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1290, serving until 1297. During his tenure, the province of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
was split off from Rome in 1296.
Archbishop of Pisa
In 1299, Pope
Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...
appointed Giovanni archbishop of Pisa. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal
Matteo d'Acquasparta and given the ''
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
'' by Cardinal
Matteo Orsini
Matteo Orsini (died probably on 18 August 1340) was an Italian Dominican friar and Cardinal.
He was the nephew of Cardinal Francesco Napoleone Orsini (1295–1312), who was himself the nephew of Pope Nicholas III (Giovanni Gaetano Orsini).
His ...
. On 5 December 1299, Boniface granted him the authority to exempt the
Republic of Pisa
The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...
, up to a limit, from the rules on taxation of clergy laid out in the
bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
''
Clericis laicos
''Clericis laicos'' was a papal bull issued on February 5, 1296 by Pope Boniface VIII in an attempt to prevent the secular states of Europe, in particular France and England, from appropriating church revenues without the express prior permission ...
''. On 11 April 1300, Giovanni consecrated Ottone, the prior of the Dominicans of Pisa, as
bishop of Terralba. Later that year, he asked the pope to return the provostry of San Pietro, which the pope had
provided for his nephew,
Benedetto Caetani. Instead, on 29 January 1301, Boniface granted the
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...
abbey of San Zenone to the archbishopric.
Giovanni consolidated the archdiocese's holdings by exchanging property in other dioceses for lands closer to Pisa. In 1307, Pope
Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
ordered him to
examine the Templars in the
patriarchate of Aquileia
The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see in northeastern Italy, centred on the ancient city of Aquileia situated at the head of the Adriatic, on what is now the Italian seacoast. For many centuries it played an important part in histor ...
. In 1312, he welcomed the Emperor
Henry VII to Pisa.
Archbishop of Nicosia
On 10 May 1312, Giovanni was transferred to the archdiocese of Nicosia in the
Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...
, which was at the time the wealthiest diocese in the Eastern Mediterranean and suffered a long vacancy owing to a disputed election. He requested that its income be assigned to his uncle, Cardinal
Giacomo Colonna until he could take up his see. On 8 February 1314, Clement V authorized Giacomo to draw up to 5,000
florin
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
s annually from the archdiocese. In December 1318, Giovanni was in
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
dealing with family affairs. He did not set out for Cyprus until 1319, after prompting from Pope
John XXII
Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334.
He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...
. He arrived in
Famagusta
Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
on 31 August and entered
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
on 6 September.
Giovanni maintained good relations with King
Henry II of Cyprus
Henry II (June 1270 – 31 August 1324) was the last crowned King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan dynasty.
He was the second surviving so ...
and, on 30 March 1324, he crowned his successor,
Hugh IV. He used his good offices to secure peace between Cyprus and the Italian merchant republics. In 1318, Cyprus had signed a truce with the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
and the pope charged Giovanni with shepherding the parties towards a permanent peace. This was finally achieved in 1329. In 1328, Giovanni drafted a similar treaty with the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
.
Giovanni commissioned and supervised the ''Chartularium sanctae Sophiae'', a
cartulary
A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll (''rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...
of all the documents in the archives of the
cathedral of the Holy Wisdom dated between 1195 and 1292. This work was completed in 1322. He continued to renovate the cathedral, reconsecrating it on 14 November 1326.
Giovanni had a reputation for rigor and charity. He imposed rigorous standards of conduct on his clergy. He forbade them to engage in commerce and forbade laypersons to visit monasteries.
Giovanni Colonna, his chaplain and a friend of
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
, wrote about his many acts of charity towards the poor. When violent storms and flooding struck Cyprus in November 1330, for example, he opened the church's grain stores.
Giovanni died in Nicosia on 1 August 1332.
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*{{cite book , chapter=Bishops, Archbishops, and Religious Institutions from the Ninth to the Fifteenth Century , title=A Companion to Medieval Pisa , first=Mauro , last=Ronzani , pages=361–382 , publisher=Brill , editor1=Karen Rose Mathews , editor2=Silvia Orvietani Busch , editor3=Stefano Bruni , year=2022
13th-century births
1332 deaths
Italian Dominicans
Roman Catholic archbishops of Pisa
Archbishops of Nicosia