260px, The Papal Palace of Viterbo, with the bell tower of the cathedral in the background
Palazzo dei Papi is a palace 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. ...
, northern
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is one of the most important monuments in the city, situated alongside the
Duomo di Viterbo (Viterbo Cathedral). The
Papal Curia was moved to Viterbo in 1257 by
Alexander IV, due to the hostility of the
Roman commune and constant urban violence: the former bishop's palace of Viterbo was enlarged to provide the Popes with an adequate residence. The construction, commissioned by the ''Capitano del popolo'' ("Captain of the People") Raniero Gatti, provided a great audience hall communicating with a loggia raised on a barrel vault above the city street. It was completed probably around 1266.
left, A detail of the Loggia of the Papal Palace of Viterbo.
![Bagno del Papa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Bagno_del_Papa.jpg)
The massive façade, facing the central piazza San Lorenzo which is dominated by the Duomo, is approached by a wide staircase completed in 1267. The top of the palace walls is decorated with square
merlon
A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...
s. On the right is a wide roofless
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
with a seven-bay arcade, supported by slender doubled columns and decorated with crests and reliefs. Within the loggia is a 15th-century fountain, made with material of various ages, sporting the coat of arms of the Gatti family.
Viterbo remained the residence of the papacy for twenty-four years, from 1257 to 1281. After
Alexander IV, the palace was the residence of
Urban IV
Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time hav ...
, then housed the
papal election of 1268-1271
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
which elected
Gregory X
Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...
(the longest papal election in Church history), the residence of
John XXI (who died in the building in 1277 when his study collapsed), and the residence again of
Nicholas III and
Martin IV
Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...
, who moved almost immediately to
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 ...
in 1281. They were all elected in the most famous hall of the palace, the ''Sala del
Conclave
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
Co ...
'' so called because it was home to the first and longest conclave in history.
In Pope
Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...
commissioned building a
bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
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. ...
, and the construction at the ''Bagno del Papa'' was continued on through the reigns of several popes after Nicholas V. The Vatican accounts mention payments "for building done at the bath palace of Viterbo" during the reigns of
Calixtus III
Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...
,
Paul II, and
Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
. There also is evidence Pope
Pius II
Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...
was responsible for the addition of a western wing to the building.
Popes resident in Viterbo
*
Alexander IV, pope from 1254 to 1261 (stably resident at Viterbo from 1257);
*
Urban IV
Pope Urban IV ( la, Urbanus IV; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time hav ...
, pope from 1261 to 1264 (divided his residence between Orvieto and Viterbo);
*
Clement IV
Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...
, pope from 1265 to 1268 (resided almost always at Viterbo);
*
Gregory X
Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...
, pope from 1271 to 1276 (Gregory X remained in Viterbo little more than a month, between February and March 1272);
*
Innocent V
Pope Innocent V ( la, Innocentius V; c. 1225 – 22 June 1276), born Pierre de Tarentaise, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 January to 22 June 1276. A member of the Order of Preachers, he acquired a reputatio ...
, pope from 21 January to 22 June 1276 (stayed at Viterbo for two weeks, just after his election, and there he met Charles of Anjou);
*
Adrian V
Pope Adrian V (Latin: ''Adrianus V''; c. 1210/1220 – 18 August 1276), born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of Pope Cle ...
, pope from 11 July 1276 to 18 August 1276 (spent almost the whole of his short pontificate in the convent next to the church of San Francesco alla Rocca);
*
John XXI, pope from 15 September 1276 to 20 May 1277 (resided almost always at Viterbo);
*
Nicholas III, pope from 1277 to 1280 (divided his residence between Viterbo, Rome and
Soriano nel Cimino
Soriano nel Cimino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy.
The town is overlooked by Monte Cimino, the highest peak in the Monti Cimini.
Main sights
*The Orsini Castle, built by Orso Orsini in the 13th centur ...
);
*
Martin IV
Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...
, elected on 22 February 1281 (abandoned Viterbo immediately after his election).
Martin IV, born Simon de Brion, was the last pope of the “Viterbo period”. He was elected after a turbulent conclave which lasted six months. The civic head of the city, Annibaldo Annibaldi, a supporter of the Angevin faction, had interfered in the conclave, preventing the Cardinal Protodeacon,
Matteo Rubeo Orsini, from taking part and entering the conclave by force of arms to arrest two cardinals. As a result,
Martin IV
Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...
was to issue a decree which ordered the abandonment of
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. ...
as a papal residence.
[ Cf. Adriano Bernareggi (dir.), ‘’Enciclopedia ecclesiastica,’’ vol. VI, Vallardi, Milano & Marietti, Torino, 1955, p. 459.] From then onwards Viterbo was never again a longterm papal residence. Moreover, given the hostility of the Roman populace to a French pope, Martin chose to be crowned in
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 ...
.
Image:B Alexander IV.jpg, Alexander IV
Image:Pope Urban IV.jpg, Urban IV
Image:Papst Clemens IV.jpg, Clement IV
Image:B Gregor X.jpg, Gregory X
Image:innocenzoV.jpg, Innocent V
Image:Hadrian V.png, Adrian V
Image:A21_GIOVANNI_XXI.jpg, John XXI
Image:NicholasIII.jpg, Nicholas III
Image:B Martin IV.jpg, Martin IV
Notes
External links
Palazzo dei Papi official websiteDescription and photosVR panorama of the Popes' Palace at Tuscia 360
{{coord, 42.415740, 12.100968, display=title, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IT-VT
Papi
Papi
Sites of papal elections
1266 establishments in Europe
13th-century establishments in Italy
Viterbo Papacy
Tourist attractions in Lazio
Loggias in Italy