1.
Antipope Benedict XIII
–
Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor, known as el Papa Luna in Spanish, was an Aragonese nobleman and Avignon Pope during the Western Schism. He is considered by the Catholic Church to be an antipope, Pedro Martínez de Luna was born at Illueca, Kingdom of Aragon in 1328. He belonged to the de Luna family, who were part of the Aragonese nobility and he studied law at the University of Montpellier, where he obtained his doctorate and later taught Canon law. In 1377 Pedro de Luna and the other returned to Rome with Pope Gregory. After Gregorys death on 27 March 1378, the people of Rome feared that the cardinals would elect a French Pope, consequently, they rioted and laid siege to the cardinals, insisting on an Italian Pope. The conclave duly elected Bartolomeo Prignano, Archbishop of Bari, as Urban VI on 9 April, some of them reconvened at Fondi in September 1378, declared the earlier election invalid and elected Robert of Geneva as their new Pope, initiating the Western Schism. Robert assumed the name Clement VII and moved back to Avignon, Clement VII sent him as legate to Spain for the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal, in order to win them over to the obedience of the Avignon pope. Owing to his relations, his influence in the Province of Aragon was very great. In 1393 Clement VII appointed him legate to France, Brabant, Flanders, Scotland, England, as such he stayed principally in Paris, but he did not confine his activities to those countries that belonged to the Avignon obedience. Following Clements death on 16 September 1394, the cardinals met at Avignon, the conclave consisted of 11 French cardinals, eight Italians, four Spaniards, and one from Savoy, all proclaiming the ardent wish to reunite the church. On the death of Urban VI in 1389 the Roman College of Cardinals had chosen Boniface IX, at the start of his term of office, de Luna was recognised as Pope by France, Scotland, Sicily, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. In 1396 Benedict sent Sanchez Muñoz, one of the most loyal members of the Avignon curia, in 1398 the Kingdom of France withdrew its recognition of the Avignon papacy. Benedict was abandoned by 17 of his cardinals, with five remaining faithful to him. Benedicts rationale for continuing the rivalry lay in the fact that he was the last living cardinal created by Gregory XI, the last undoubted Supreme Pontiff. As the only unquestioned cardinal, Benedict argued, he was, by right and by canon law, following the Council of Constance Benedicts logic was completely disregarded. When these talks ended in stalemate in 1408, the French king, Charles VI, Charles helped to organise the Council of Pisa in 1409. This council was supposed to arrange for both Gregory and Benedict to resign, so that a new universally recognised Pope could be elected, to oppose this, Benedict convoked the Council of Perpignan but with little success. The Bishop of St Andrews, Henry Wardlaw, then successfully petitioned Benedict to grant the university status by issuing a series of papal bulls
2.
Pope
–
The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, therefore, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, the office of the pope is the papacy. The pope is considered one of the worlds most powerful people because of his diplomatic and he is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history, the popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of importance in Western Europe. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, the word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning father. The earliest record of the use of title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria. Some historians have argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the writings of the Church Father Irenaeus who wrote around AD180 reflect a belief that Peter founded and organised the Church at Rome. Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peters presence in the early Roman Church, Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c. 96, about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the struggles in our time and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, first, the greatest and most just columns, the good apostles Peter and Paul. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did. Given this and other evidence, many agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero. Protestants contend that the New Testament offers no proof that Jesus established the papacy nor even that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome, others, using Peters own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of the church and not Peter. First-century Christian communities would have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as leaders of their local churches, gradually, episcopacies were established in metropolitan areas. Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome, some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, documents of the 1st century and early 2nd century indicate that the Holy See had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is unclear. It seems that at first the terms episcopos and presbyter were used interchangeably, the consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable
3.
Pope Innocent XIII
–
Pope Innocent XIII was born as Michelangelo dei Conti and was Pope from 8 May 1721 to his death in 1724. He is the last pope to date to take the name of Innocent upon his election. Pope Innocent XIII was reform-oriented, and he imposed new standards of frugality, Michelangelo dei Conti was born on 13 May 1655 in Poli, near Rome as the son of Carlo II, Duke of Poli, and Isabella dMonti. Like Pope Innocent III, Pope Gregory IX and Pope Alexander IV, he was a member of the family of the Conti. He included the family crest in his coats of arms. Conti commenced his studies in Ancona and then with the Jesuits in Rome at the Collegio Romano, after he received his doctorate in canon law and civil law, he was ordained to the priesthood. Conti also served as the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura in 1691, Conti was also the Governor of Campagna and Marittima from 1692 to 1693 and the Governor of Viterbo from 1693 to 1695. Pope Innocent XII selected Conti as the Titular Archbishop of Tarso on 13 June 1695, Conti was also the nuncio to both Switzerland and Portugal. On 7 June 1706, Conti was elevated to the cardinalate and was made the Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta under Pope Clement XI and his appointment came about as the replacement of Gabriele Filippucci who declined the cardinalate. He would receive his titular church on 23 February 1711, while in Portugal, he was witness to Father Bartolomeu de Gusmãos early aerostat experiments. He was also transferred to Osimo as its archbishop in 1709 and was later translated one last time to Viterbo e Toscanella in 1712. He also served as Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1716 to 1717, after the death of Pope Clement XI in 1721, a conclave was called to choose a new pope. It took 75 ballots just to reach a decision and choose Conti as the successor of Clement XI, after all candidates seemed to slip, support turned to Conti. The curial factions also turned their attention to him, in the morning of 8 May 1721, he was elected. He chose the name of Innocent XIII in honour of Pope Innocent III, on the following 18 May, he was solemnly crowned by the protodeacon, Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili. In 1721 his high reputation for ability, learning, purity, and his pontificate was prosperous, but comparatively uneventful. He held two consistories that saw three new cardinals elevated on 16 June 1721 and 16 July 1721, the Chinese Rites controversy that started under his predecessor continued during his reign. Innocent XIII prohibited the Jesuits from prosecuting their mission in China, the pope also assisted the Venetians in their struggles and also assisted Malta in its struggles against the Turks
4.
Pope Clement XII
–
Pope Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to his death in 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal finances, in his 1738 bull In eminenti apostolatus, he provides the first public papal condemnation of Freemasonry, helping bring about the Catholic Churchs longstanding opposition to the order. Lorenzo Corsini was born in Florence in 1652 as the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Elisabetta Strozzi, both of his parents belonged to the old Florentine nobility. He was a distant relative of Saint Andrea Corsini, Corsini studied at the Jesuit Collegio Romano in Rome and also at the University of Pisa where he earned a doctorate in both civil law and canon law. Corsini practiced law under the direction of his uncle, Cardinal Neri Corsini. After the death of his uncle and his father, in 1685, Corsini, now thirty-three, corsini’s home on the Piazza Novona, was the center of Rome’s scholarly and artistic life. In 1690 he was made titular Archbishop of Nicomedia and chosen nuncio to Vienna. He did not proceed to the court, because Leopold I. In 1696, Corsini was appointed treasurer-general and governor of the Castel SantAngelo and he advanced still further under Pope Benedict XIII, who made him Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, a judicial branch of the Roman Curia. He was successively appointed as the Cardinal-Priest of San Pietro in Vincoli, under Benedict XIII, the finances of the Papal States had been delivered into the hands of Cardinal Niccolò Coscia and other members of the curia, who had drained the financial resources of the see. Clement XII was one of the oldest men to be elected pope, as a Corsini, with his mother a Strozzi, the new pope represented a family in the highest level of Florentine society, with a cardinal in every generation for the previous hundred years. His first moves as Pope Clement XII were to restore the papal finances and he demanded restitution from the ministers who had abused the confidence of his predecessor. The chief culprit, Cardinal Niccolò Coscia, was fined and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Papal finances were improved through reviving the public lottery, which had been suppressed by the severe morality of Benedict XIII. A competition for the majestic façade of the San Giovanni in Laterano was won by architect Alessandro Galilei, the façade he designed is perhaps more palatial than ecclesiastic, and was finished by 1735. Clement XII erected in that ancient basilica a magnificent chapel dedicated to his 14th century kinsman and he restored the Arch of Constantine and built the governmental palace of the Consulta on the Quirinal. He purchased from Cardinal Alessandro Albani for 60,000 scudi a famous collection of statues, inscriptions, etc. and he paved the streets of Rome and the roads leading from the city, and widened the Corso. He began the triumphant Baroque Fontana di Trevi, one of the ornaments of Rome
5.
Pope Clement X
–
Pope Clement X, born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to his death in 1676. Emilio Boneventura Altieri was born in Rome in 1590, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delfin, during earlier pontificates, the Altieri held many important offices and had been entrusted with several delicate missions. Altieri received a doctorate in law from the Roman College in 1611, after finishing his studies, he was named auditor of Giovanni Battista Lancellotti in 1623, in the nunciature of Poland. He was ordained April 6,1624, on his return to Rome, he was named Bishop of Camerino, then governor of Loreto and of all Umbria. Pope Urban VIII gave him charge of the designed to protect the territory of Ravenna from the unruly Po River. Pope Innocent X sent him as nuncio to Naples, where he remained for eight years and he is credited with the re-establishment of peace after the stormy days of Masaniello. Pope Alexander VII confided to him a mission to Poland, Pope Clement IX named him Superintendent of the Papal Exchequer, and in 1667 his maestro di camera, and he was made Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. Just before his death, Clement IX made him a Cardinal and he was then about seventy-nine years of age, and Clement IX, when making him a member of the Sacred College, said to him, You will be our successor. After the funeral of Pope Clement IX, sixty-two electors entered into conclave on 20 December 1669, forty-two votes were necessary, and due to the rivalry between the French and Spanish factions, heated discussion prevailed for four months. The reason a prelate of such transcendent merits received the cardinalate so late in life seems to have been that he had waived his claims to the elevation in favour of an older brother. On 29 April 1670, the papacy was offered to him by fifty-nine Cardinals present at the election and he, however, objected because of his age, for he was almost eighty, and exclaimed, I am too old to bear such a burden. Pointing to Cardinal Brancaccio, Altieri said he was the Cardinal whom they ought to elect and he was crowned on 11 May. On the 8th of June Clement X took possession of St. John Lateran, in the same month he granted to the prelate-clerks of the chamber the use of the violet-coloured band around their hats. Occasionally forgetful, he promised the same favors to different people and came to rely on his cardinal-nephew. All but one of the scions of the Altieri family had chosen the ecclesiastical career. In exchange for adopting the Altieri surname he would one of the Paoluzzi a Cardinal. Like all the pontiffs, Clement X advised the Christian princes to love each other, and to prove it by generous measures and it was especially between Spain and France that the pope desired to witness a renewal of feelings of good understanding. In 1671, the Pope published an edict by which he declared that a noble might be a merchant without loss of his nobility, in 1676, Gianlorenzo Bernini scculpted one of his final statues, a bust of Clement X
6.
Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni
–
He studied at the University of Perugia and earned a doctorate of law. Thereafter he became a cleric of the Apostolic Chamber during the part of the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII. He became Auditor-General of the Apostolic Chamber during the pontificate of Pope Alexander VII, in 1664, Altieri was elevated to Cardinal in pectore by Pope Alexander VII. His elevation to cardinal was published in 1666 and he was made Cardinal-Priest of Santi Apostoli, the following month he was elected Bishop of Montefiascone e Corneto and consecrated by his mothers relative, Cardinal Ulderico Carpegna. He participated in the conclave of 1667 which elected Pope Clement IX, over the following few years he became a close advisor to Cardinal Emilio Altieri. At the papal conclave of 1669–1670 Altieri was elected as Pope Clement X, in May 1670 he was appointed Bishop of Ravenna and papal legate in Avignon. In 1671, Altieri was named Prefect of the Sacred Consulta Propaganda Fide and was made Governor of Tivoli and that same year he was appointed Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and Crown-cardinal of Ireland. Altieri was appointed, or appointed himself, to so many positions he was accused by his contemporaries of megalomania, though he had established a well-regarded ecclesiastic career, his limited diplomatic experience caused problems for the Pope and for the Holy See, even after Clements death. Between 1678 and 1679 he was also appointed Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals and he participated in the conclave of 1691 which elected Pope Innocent XII and was thereafter appointed Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. He was made Archpriest of the Patriarchal Lateran Basilica in 1693 and Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, six months later, on 29 June 1698, he died suddenly at his dinner table. He was waked in the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli, Ulderico Carpegna consecrated Altieri to the episcopacy on 2 May 1666. Having himself consecrated Pope Benedict XIII to the episcopacy, Cardinal Altieri is in the lineage of Pope Francis. While bishop, he was the consecrator of
7.
Gravina in Puglia
–
Gravina in Puglia is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The word gravina comes from the Latin grava or from the messapic graba, with the meaning of rock, shaft, other words that share the same root are grava, gravaglione and gravinelle. The town was founded by the Greeks during the colonization of Greater Greece, diodorus notes it as an Apulian town, which was wrested from the Samnites by the Romans during the 3rd Samnite War. It was a town in the interior of Apulia and it is noticed by Strabo as the frontier town of the Peucetii, and its name is noticed by Pliny among the municipal towns of Apulia. The Via Appia, which linked Rome to Brindisi, passed through Gravina, the Itineraries place it 20 miles from Venusia, on the branch of the Appian Way which led direct to Tarentum. Later it was ruled by Byzantines, Lombards and North African Muslims, the city was the site of a Norman countship in the Hauteville Kingdom of Sicily and in the later Kingdom of Naples. A famous count of the former was Gilbert, who was sent by his cousin, in the latter period it was the hereditary fief of John, Duke of Durazzo. The Normans called the town Garagnone or Garaynone, from 1386 to 1816 it was a fief of the Orsini family, the pope Benedict XIII was born here in 1649. Feudal oppression led to riots, in particular from 1789 until the unification of Italy. Gravina in Puglia was partly destroyed by Allied bombings during World War II, Gravina Cathedral - built by the Normans in Romanesque style. Destroyed by fires and earthquakes in the century, it houses a splendid reliquary of an arm of the English Thomas Becket. The remains of Frederick IIs castle, site on a nearby the city. According to Giorgio Vasari, it was designed in 1231 by one Fuccio from Florence, san Sebastiano - Renaisssance-style church with a nave and two aisles separated by pilasters. The cloister of the convent has with Romanesque capitals decorated with animal. San Michele delle Grotte- 10th-century church carved out from the tuff rocks It has also a well preserved Roman bridge, dates back to at least 1686. Following the earthquake of 1722 the bridge was restored and transformed into an aqueduct by the Orsini family of Rome, the commune of Gravina in Puglia produces a white Denominazione di origine controllata Italian wine that can be made in a still or sparkling Spumante style. While the still Gravina wine is almost always dry, the sparkling Gravina wine can be made in both a dry secco and slightly sweet amabile style, all grapes destined for DOC wine production needing to be harvested to a yield no greater than 15 tonnes/ha. The wine is primarily from Malvasia del Chianti, Greco di Tufo
8.
Kingdom of Naples
–
It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
9.
Rome
–
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
10.
Lazio
–
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With almost 5.9 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the second most populated region of Italy and its capital is Rome, capital and largest city of Italy. Lazio comprises an area of 17,236 km2 and it has borders with Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo and Molise to the east, Campania to the south. The region is flat and hilly, with small mountainous areas in the most eastern and southern districts. The coast of Lazio is mainly composed of beaches, punctuated by the headlands of Circeo. The Pontine Islands, which are part of Lazio, lie opposite the southern coast, behind the coastal strip, to the north, lies the Maremma Laziale, a coastal plain interrupted at Civitavecchia by the Tolfa Mountains. The central section of the region is occupied by the Roman Campagna, the southern districts are characterized by the flatlands of Agro Pontino, a once swampy and malarial area, that was reclaimed over the centuries. To the south of the Tiber, other groups form part of the Preapennines, the Alban Hills, also of volcanic origin. The highest peak is Mount Gorzano on the border with Abruzzo, see also, History of Italy The Italian word Lazio descends from the Latin word Latium. The name of the region also survives in the designation of the ancient population of Latins, Latini in the Latin language spoken by them. Although the demography of ancient Rome was multi-ethnic, including, for example, Etruscans and other Italics besides the Latini, in Roman mythology, the tribe of the Latini took their name from king Latinus. Much of Lazio is in flat or rolling. The lands originally inhabited by the Latini were extended into the territories of the Samnites, the Marsi, the Hernici, the Aequi, the Aurunci and the Volsci, all surrounding Italic tribes. This larger territory was still called Latium, but it was divided into Latium adiectum or Latium Novum, the lands or New Latium, and Latium Vetus, or Old Latium. The northern border of Lazio was the Tiber river, which divided it from Etruria, the emperor Augustus officially united almost all of present-day Italy into a single geo-political entity, Italia, dividing it into eleven regions. However, the wars against the Longobards weakened the region. With the Donation of Sutri in 728, the Bishop of Rome acquired the first territory in the region beyond the Duchy of Rome, the strengthening of the religious and ecclesiastical aristocracy led to continuous power struggles between secular lords and the Pope until the middle of the 16th century. Other popes tried to do the same, during the period when the papacy resided in Avignon, France, the feudal lords power increased due to the absence of the Pope from Rome
11.
Papal States
–
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
12.
Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio
–
The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio is one of e over sixty minor basilicas among the churches of Rome, and a titular church since 600 AD. As such, it is connected to the title of a Cardinal priest, the church is dedicated to St. Pope Sixtus II and houses his relics, San Sisto was rebuilt in the early 13th century by Pope Innocent III. The current church is the result of the restorations of Pope Benedict XIII in the 18th century, which only the bell tower. A 13th-century fresco cycle depicting scenes from the New Testament and the Apocrypha has been preserved, Pope Honorius III entrusted the reform of the monastery at San Sisto Vecchio to Saint Dominic in the 1220s, intending it as part of the reformation of womens religious life in Rome. Dominican nuns still occupy the monastery at San Sisto Vecchio, the following persons are known to have been Cardinal priests of S. Sisto, Joannes. He followed Pope Anacletus II in the Schism of 1130-1139, Spanish Juan de Torquemada, O. P. Valladolid, Castile Pseudocardinal-priest Giovanni di Ragusa, O. P. Croatian Pietro Riario, O. Min. Savona Pedro Ferris, Cocentaina, Alicante, Spain Cosma Orsini, roman, father from Fermo Pierre de Foix, le jeune, O. Min. Spanish Cardinal-deacon Charles de Bourbon-Vendome, French, Italian Nicolò Spinola, Spanish Agostino Pipia, O. P. Italian Louis-Antoine de Noailles, French Francesco Antonio Finy, Italian Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti, O. P. Bologna, Italy Luigi Maria Lucini, Italian Carlo Vittorio Amedeo Delle Lanze, Italian Giuseppe Agostino Orsi, O. P. Italian Giovanni Molino, Italian Juan Tomás de Boxadors y Sureda de San Martín, Spanish Jean-Baptist-Marie-Anne-Antoine de Latil, French Gaspare Bernardo Pianetti, Italian Cardinal-priest Filippo Maria Guidi, O. P
13.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cesena-Sarsina
–
The current bishop of Cesena-Sarsina is Douglas Regattieri. He was appointed on October 8,2010, after Bishop Antonio Lanfranchi was named Metropolitan Archbishop of Modena-Nonantola by Pope Benedict XVI, after the overthrow of the Ostrogoths it became a part of the exarchate. By the Donation of Pepin it became a fief of the Holy See, in medieval times it was governed by various families, among them the Ordelaffi di Forli and the Malatesta, the latter being remembered for their justice and good government. After the death of Cesare Borgia, Cesena, with the rest of Romagna, erected, 1st CenturyLatin Name, CaesenatensisMetropolitan, Archdiocese of Ravenna. Gian Battista Acciaioli, exiled by Francesco degli Ordelaffi, gregorio Malesardi, who built the cathedral. P. Jan Kazimierz Denhoff Giovanni Fontana Marco Battista Battaglini Francesco Saverio Guicciardi Giovanni Battista Orsi, guido Orselli Francesco Agoselli Carlo Bellisomi Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni Antonio Maria Cadolini, B. F. M. Antonio Lanfranchi Douglas Regattieri Gams, Pius Bonifatius, series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo. Ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. article name needed
14.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benevento
–
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Benevento was founded in the first century. During the persecution of Diocletian we find mentioned a bishop of this city Januarius who together with Proculus his deacon, the see of Benevento was elevated in status to an archdiocese on 26 May 969. Assunta in Cielo was founded in Lombard times, but was destroyed by Allied bombings in World War II, it has kept the medieval Romanesque façade and bell tower, and the 8th century crypt
15.
Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati
–
The Diocese of Frascati is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop, from the Latin name of the area, the bishopric moved from Tusculum to Frascati, a nearby town which is first mentioned in the pontificate of Pope Leo IV. Until 1962, the Cardinal-Bishop was concurrently the diocesan bishop of the see in addition to any curial duties he possessed, Pope John XXIII removed the Cardinal Bishops from any actual responsibility in their suburbicarian dioceses, and made the title purely honorific. Like other dioceses close to Rome, Frascati became a bishopric of choice for Cardinals of powerful families during the 17th century. Frascati Bishops of that era were significantly intertwined, Odoardo Farnese - uncle of Odoardo Farnese, giulio Cesare Sacchetti - twice nominated for the papacy by Antonio Barberini. Girolamo Colonna - brother of Anna Colonna, uncle of Don Maffeo Barberini, biagio Budelacci Francesco Giacci Edward Henry Howard Bräuer, Martin. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo, ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz. pp. xix–xxii. Lentz, Harris M. Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI, la Fin de la seigneurie de Tusculum. L origine di Frascati e la distruzione del Tuscolo, memorie istoriche dell antico Tusculo oggi Frascati. Frascati, Associazione Tuscolana Amici di Frascati, Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati Official Website Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati
16.
Suburbicarian Diocese of Porto e Santa Rufina
–
The Diocese of Porto and Santa-Rufina is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. It was formed from the union of two sees of Rome. From 1967, the diocese has had both a titular Cardinal bishop, and a resident bishop who handles the diocesan business, Porto was in ancient times Portus, the chief harbour of Rome. It was near Porto that Julius Nepos compelled Emperor Glycerius to abdicate, during the Gothic War the town served the Goths and the Byzantines as a base of operations against Rome. In the 9th and 10th centuries it was sacked on several occasions by the Saracens, in 849 Pope Leo IV fortified it and established there a colony of Corsicans for the defence of the coast and the neighbouring territory, but the city continued to decay. Several martyrs of Porto are known, including Herculanus, Hyacinthus, Martialis, Saturninus Epictetus, Maprilis, the place was also famous as the probable see of St. Hippolytus. The great xenodochium, or hospice, of Pammachius was built about 370, among the other bishops should be mentioned Donatus, who built the basilica of St. Santa Rufina grew up around the basilica of the Holy Martyrs Sts, Rufina and Secunda on the Via Aurelia, fourteen miles from Rome, the basilica is said to have been begun by Pope Julius I, and was finished by Saint Damasus. Among its other bishops mention should be made of Tiberius Ursus Nicetas Hildebrand Peter, whose jurisdiction over the Leonine City, the Trastevere, the residence of the bishops of Silva Candida was on the Insula Tiberina beside the church of Sts. Adalbert and Paulinus, while that of the bishops of Porto was on the island near the church of San Giovanni. The bishops of Silva Candida, moreover, enjoyed great prerogatives in relation with the ceremonies of the basilica of St. Peter and he wrote against the errors of the Greeks and against Berengarius. The last legitimate Bishop was Mainardo of Pomposa, during the schism of antipope Clement III there was a pseudocardinal-bishop Adalbert, later antipope Adalbert. In 1826, Civitavecchia was separated from the Diocese of Viterbo and Toscanella and united with that of Porto, mention should be made of the Cardinal Bishop of Porto Luigi, Lambruschini, who restored the cathedral and the episcopal palace. The Diocese of Cære, now Cerveteri, has united with that of Porto since the 12th century. The last known was Benedictus, referred to in 1015 and 1029, the Diocese of Porto and Santa Rufina has 18 parishes, with 4600 inhabitants. Mention should be made of the Cardinal Bishop of Porto Luigi, Lambruschini, who restored the cathedral, the Diocese of Cære, now Cerveteri, has been united with that of Porto since the 12th century. The last known was Benedictus, referred to in 1015 and 1029, the Diocese of Porto and Santa Rufina has 18 parishes, with 4600 inhabitants
17.
Cardinal-nephew
–
A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a pope who is that cardinals uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, the word nepotism originally referred specifically to this practice, when it appeared in the English language about 1669. From the middle of the Avignon Papacy until Pope Innocent XIIs anti-nepotism bull, Romanum decet pontificem, a pope without a cardinal-nephew was the exception to the rule. Every Renaissance pope who created cardinals appointed a relative to the College of Cardinals, the institution of the cardinal-nephew evolved over seven centuries, tracking developments in the history of the papacy and the styles of individual Popes. From 1566 until 1692, a held the curial office of the Superintendent of the Ecclesiastical State, known as the Cardinal Nephew. The list of cardinal-nephews includes at least fifteen, and possibly as many as nineteen popes, one antipope, the first known cardinal-nephew is Lottario, seniore, cousin of Pope Benedict VIII, elected circa 1015. Benedict VIII also elevated his brother Giovanni and his cousin Teofilatto as cardinal-deacons, however, it is beyond doubt that the promotions of papal relatives to the College of Cardinals were common in 13th century. According to historian John Bargrave, by the Council of Bazill, Session 21, the number of cardinals was not to be above 24, and not any nephew of the Pope or of any cardinal was to be of that number. Pope Clement VI created more cardinal-nephews than any other pontiff, including six on September 20,1342, the greatest number of cardinal-nephews elevated at one time. Saint Charles Borromeo, cardinal-nephew of Pope Pius IV, had ensured the subordination of the secretarius intimus to the Cardinal Nephew, Pius IV was notorious for nepotism, between 1561 and 1565 he transferred more than 350,000 scudi to his relatives. However, Pius V relentlessly avoided delegating any real power to Bonelli. The office has been likened by historians to a minister, alter ego. The Cardinal Nephew was generally among a Popes first cardinal creations, the terms of the office of Cardinal Nephew were established by a papal brief developed and refined by Pius Vs successors to Paul V. The Cardinal Nephew was also the liaison for all papal nuncios and gubernatorial legates. The Cardinal Nephew was also the captain-general of the papal army, however, these formal functions only came into force during the pontificates of unusually weak Popes, most Cardinal Nephews were the de facto rubber stamp of the pontiff himself. Although Pope Leo XI died before he was able to elevate his nephew, Roberto Ubaldini, Ubaldini was elevated by Leo XIs successor, Pope Paul V in 1615. For example, in 1616,24 of the 30 abbeys belonging to Borghese were rented out and it is estimated that Paul V Borghese had transferred to his family approximately 4% of the total income of the Holy See during his pontificate. Borgheses personal revenues in 1610 were 153,000 scudi compared to the mere 4,900 scudi that constituted his entire familys income in 1592
18.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Viterbo
–
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viterbo is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in central Italy. It was called historically the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania and its name was changed to Diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania and San Martino al Monte Cimino in 1986, and shortened to Viterbo in 1991. The diocese is exempt, i. e. immediately subject to the Holy See, the name of Viterbo occurs for the first time in the 8th century, under Pope Zachary, when it was a village tributary to Toscanella, in Lombard Tuscany on the Via Cassia. Charlemagne gave the all this Tuscan territory in feudal tenure. The episcopal see of Viterbo was transferred from Toscanella, which venerates the martyrs Secundianus, Verianus and they suffered not far from the city, to which their relics were translated in the seventh century by Bishop Maurus, the first known bishop. Among the successors of Maurus was Homobonus, to whom Pope Leo IV addressed a letter determining the boundaries of the diocese, in 876 Joannes, in the name of Pope John VIII, carried the imperial insignia to Charles the Bald. In 1192 Pope Celestine III made it the diocese of Viterbo, on territory split off from the Tuscanello bishopric, as direct subjects of the popes, many of its bishops were transferred to a richer see and/or even created Cardinals. During the tenth century Toscanella was for some time under the Bishop of Centumcellae, the succession of its bishops recommences with Joannes, another Joannes distinguished himself in the reform of Benedict and brought back the clergy of Tuscania to the common life. Gilbert and Giselbert were also promoters of reform, while Richard adhered to the antipope Clement III, who united with Toscanella Centumcellae, among other bishops were Ranieri, in whose episcopate the Paterini came to Viterbo, still active in 1304. After him Cardinal Raniero Capocci was for a time the administrator. In 1435 the Diocese of Corneto was separated and joined with the recently erected Diocese of Montefiascone. When Cardinal Albornoz came to effect the reconquest of the Papal States, Viterbo submitted, when the Western Schism arose, Vicos tyranny recommenced, he took the side of Pope Clement VII and sustained a siege by Cardinal Orsini. The people rose and killed him, and Viterbo returned to the obedience of Pope Urban VI, but in 1391 Gian Sciarra di Vico reentered the city and took possession of its government. In 1391 Cardinal Pileo, the legate of Clement VII, would have given the city over to Pope Boniface IX, but his plan failed. One of its cardinal legates was Reginald Pole, around whom there grew up at Viterbo a coterie of friends, Vittoria Colonna among them, on 2 May 1936 it gained territory from the suppressed Territorial Abbacy of San Martino al Monte Cimino. On 1936.05.02, it lost its autonomous status, as it was united title with the then diocese of Viterbo. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo, ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI
19.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola
–
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola is a territory in Romagna, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna, the current bishop is Tommaso Ghirelli. It is noted for having had a number of its bishops elected to the Papacy, the Christian origins of Imola are obscure. The episcopal see certainly antedates St. Ambrose, who sede vacante ordered the bishop of Vigorenza to visit the church of Imola, the martyrdom of Saint Cassian is likewise certain, being described by Prudentius from pictures seen by him in the cathedral of Imola. In 435 Emperor Valentinian III built the church of S. Maria in Arenula, the bishop then was Cornelius, whose archdeacon Peter was appointed Bishop of Ravenna by Pope Sixtus III and is known as St. Peter Chrysologus. His successor was Projectus, at whose ordination as bishop Chrysologus gave a magnificent eulogy of Bishop Cornelius, Chrysologus himself was buried at Imola, having died in his native city. His tombstone, discovered in 1698, was a block on which was written PETRUS. Hostia fit gentis primi pro labe parentis and these leonine verses, however, indicate a much more recent date. Other bishops worthy of mention are, John, who restored the cathedral, the diocesan website currently lists 93 diocesan priests and 17 religious priests. Erected, 4th CenturyLatin Name, ImolensisMetropolitan, Archdiocese of Bologna Matteo Orsini, Antonio Calvi Simone Bonadies Domenico Scribonio dei Cerboni Niccolò Ridolfi Girolamo Dandini Anastasio Umberto Dandini, O. S. B. Taddeo Luigi dal Verme Filippo Antonio Gualtieri Ulisse Giuseppe Gozzadini Giuseppe Accoramboni Giovanni Tommaso Maria Marelli, Giovanni Carlo Bandi Barnaba Chiaramonti, O. S. B. Antonio Lamberto Rusconi Giacomo Giustiniani Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti Gaetano Baluffi Vincenzo Moretti Luigi Tesorieri Francesco Baldassarri Paolino Giovanni Tribbioli, benigno Carrara Luigi Dardani Giuseppe Fabiani Tommaso Ghirelli This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. article name needed
20.
Pietro della Vecchia
–
Pietro della Vecchia, also sometimes known as Pietro Muttoni, was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Vicenza, he trained with Alessandro Varotari, called il Padovanino, deriving a notable interest in Venetian masters such as Titian. Until 1984, he was referred to as Pietro Muttoni. In fact, Pietro was from the well known Venetian family of della Vecchia, known among his contemporaries for his ability to imitate the styles of 16th-century masters, he was also known for his grotesque paintings and portraiture. His earliest known works include two representations of St Francis, which have survived in versions, and a Crucifixion. These paintings are so heavily influenced by Carlo Saraceni and his follower Jean Leclerc as to suggest that della Vecchia trained with them, certain Caravaggesque elements remained in his work, suggest that he spent some time in Rome after Leclerc had left Venice in 1621 or 1622. The influence of Padovanino is only noticeable in dated works after 1635, Della Vecchia probably worked in Padovaninos studio c. 1625-6, after his trip to Rome, and from the latter he derived his great interest in 16th-century painting in Venice and the Veneto. His monumental Crucifixion has a composition that harks back to the mannerist works of the 16th century, while the figures derive from Caravaggio, is characteristic of this phase in his style. By 1640, the influence of Strozzi is apparent in the Angel Offering a Skull to St Giustina, from 1640 to 1673 he painted designs for some the mosaic depictions inside the St. He painted four idyllic landscapes that presage Rococo style, a painting depicting Saint Mark Evangelist, attributed to della Vecchia, is displayed in the Mykolas Zilinskas Art Museum. He married Clorinda Renieri, daughter of Nicolas Régnier, Flemish painter, Della Vecchia died in Venice, September 1678. Aikema, Pietro Della Vecchia and the Heritage of the Renaissance in Venice, Florence,1984 Life of Pietro Della Vecchia, Libarts. com
21.
Benedict XIV
–
Pope Benedict XIV, born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 17 August 1740 to his death in 1758. Perhaps one of the greatest scholars in Christendom, yet overlooked, he promoted scientific learning, the baroque arts, reinvigoration of Thomism. In terms of the governance of the Papal States, he reduced taxation, a scholar, he laid the groundwork for the present Vatican Museum. Horace Walpole described him as a priest without insolence or interest, a prince without favorites, Lambertini was born into a noble family of Bologna to Marcello Lambertini and Lucrezia Bulgarini, the third of five children. At the time of his birth, Bologna was the second largest city in the Papal States, at the age of thirteen, he began attending the Collegium Clementianum in Rome, where he studied rhetoric, Latin, philosophy, and theology. During his studies as a man, he often studied the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. While he enjoyed studying at Collegium Clementianum, the bent of his mind was well towards ecclesiastical and civil law, soon after, in 1694 at the age of nineteen, he received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology and Doctor Utriusque Juris. On the death of Innocent XII, he was made an advocate by Clement XI. Lambertini was consecrated a bishop in Rome, in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican Palace, on 16 July 1724, the co-consecrators were Giovanni Francesco Nicolai, titular Archbishop of Myra, and Nicola Maria Lercari, titular Archbishop of Nazianzus. He was made Bishop of Ancona in 1727 and he was created a cardinal in pectore, his name being published on 30 April 1728, and was subsequently made the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on 10 May 1728. He also served as the Archbishop of Bologna, after the death of Pope Clement XII, Lambertini attended the papal conclave to choose a successor. It would last for six months, at first Cardinal Ottoboni, dean of the Sacred College, was favored to be elected, but a number of cardinals were opposed to this on account of the cardinal being protector of France. This appears to have assisted his cause for winning the election, which benefited from his reputation for deep learning, gentleness, wisdom. On 17 August 1740 he was elected in the evening and took his new name of Benedict XIV in honour of Pope Benedict XIII. He managed to overcome most of these problems — the Holy Sees disputes with the Kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, Spain, Venice and he had a very active papacy, reforming the education of priests, the calendar of feasts of the Church, and many papal institutions. Perhaps the most important act of Benedict XIVs pontificate was the promulgation of his famous laws about missions in the two bulls, Ex quo singulari and Omnium solicitudinum and this question was especially pressing in the case of an ancestor known not to have been a Christian. The choice of a Chinese translation for the name of God had also been debated since the early 17th century, Benedict XIV denounced these practices in these two bulls. The consequence of this was many of these converts left the Church
22.
Dominican Order
–
Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally carry the letters O. P. after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning of the Order of Preachers. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. The Dominican Order is headed by the Master of the Order, in the year 2000, there were 5,171 Dominican friars in solemn vows,917 student brothers, and 237 novices. By the year 2013 there were 6,058 Dominican friars, a number of other names have been used to refer to both the order and its members. In England and other countries the Dominican friars are referred to as Black Friars because of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits, Dominicans were Blackfriars, as opposed to Whitefriars or Greyfriars. They are also distinct from the Augustinian Friars who wear a similar habit and their identification as Dominicans gave rise to the pun that they were the Domini canes, or Hounds of the Lord. The Dominican Order came into being in the Middle Ages at a time when religion began to be contemplated in a new way, men of God were no longer expected to stay behind the walls of a cloister. Instead, they travelled among the people, taking as their examples the apostles of the primitive Church. Out of this emerged two orders of mendicant friars, one, the Friars Minor, was led by Francis of Assisi, the other. Dominics new order was to be an order, trained to preach in the vernacular languages. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, at the same time, Dominic inspired the members of his order to develop a mixed spirituality. They were both active in preaching, and contemplative in study, prayer and meditation, the brethren of the Dominican Order were urban and learned, as well as contemplative and mystical in their spirituality. While these traits affected the women of the order, the nuns especially absorbed the latter characteristics, in England, the Dominican nuns blended these elements with the defining characteristics of English Dominican spirituality and created a spirituality and collective personality that set them apart. The orders origins in battling heterodoxy influenced its development and reputation. Many later Dominicans battled heresy as part of their apostolate, indeed, many years after St. Dominic reacted to the Cathars, the first Grand Inquistor of Spain, Tomás de Torquemada, would be drawn from the Dominican Order. As an adolescent, he had a love of theology. During his studies in Palencia, Spain, he experienced a famine, prompting Dominic to sell all of his beloved books. At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, he was ordained to the priesthood, at that time the south of France was the stronghold of the Cathar or Albigensian heresy, named after the Duke of Albi, a Cathar sympathiser and opponent to the subsequent Albigensian Crusade
23.
Orsini family
–
The Orsini family is an Italian noble family, it was one of the most influential princely families in medieval Italy and renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini include popes Celestine III, Nicholas III, according to their family legend, the Orsini are descended from the Julio-Claudian family of ancient Rome. This is fanciful, as is the connection to the German families of Anhalt, Baden. The Orsini were related to the Boboni family existing in Rome in the 11th century, the first members always used the surname of Boboni-Orsini. The first known member is one Bobone, in the early 11th century, father of Pietro, in turn father of Giacinto dei Boboni. The Boboni surname was lost with his children, who were called de domo filiorum Ursi, two of them, Napoleone and Matteo Rosso the Great considerably increased the prestige of the family. The former was the founder of the first southern line, which disappeared with Camillo Pardo in 1553 and he obtained the city of Manoppello, later a countship, and was gonfaloniere of the Papal States. Matteo Rosso, called the Great, was the lord of Rome from 1241. Two of his sons and Napoleone were also Senators, Matteo ousted the traditional rivals, the Colonna, from Rome and extended the Orsini territories southwards up to Avellino and northwards to Pitigliano. During his life the family entered firmly in the Guelph party, the most distinguished of his sons was Giovanni Gaetano, elected pope as Nicholas III, he named the nephew Bertoldo as count of Romagna and had two nephews and a brother created cardinals. The rise of the Orsini did not stop after Nicholas death, bertoldos son, Gentile II, was two times Senator of Rome, podestà of Viterbo and, from 1314, Gran Giustiziere of the Kingdom of Naples. He married Clarice Ruffo, daughter of the counts of Catanzaro and his son Romano, called Romanello, was Royal Vicar of Rome in 1326, and inherited the countship of Soana through his marriage with Anastasia de Montfort, Countess of Nola. After his death, his two sons divided his fiefs, forming the Pitigliano and the southern line. Roberto, Gentile IIs grandson, married Sibilla del Balzo, daughter of the Great Senechal of the Kingdom of Naples, among his sons, Giacomo was created cardinal by Gregory XI in 1371, while Nicola obtained the counties of Ariano and Celano. The latter was also Senator of Rome and enlarged the territories in Lazio. His second son, Raimondello Orsini del Balzo, supported Charles III coup détat in Naples against Queen Joan I, under king Ladislaus he was among the few Neapolitan feudataries who were able to maintain their territorial power after the royal war against them. However, at his death in 1406 the southern Orsini fiefs were confiscated, the links with the court increased further under Sergianni Caracciolo, Joans lover and Great Senechal. A younger brother of Giannantonio married one of Sergiannis daughters, however, the Orsini changed side when Alfonso V of Aragon started his conquest of the Kingdom of Naples
24.
Pope Benedict XI
–
Pope Benedict XI, born Nicola Boccasini, was Pope from 22 October 1303 to his death on 7 July,1304. He was also a member of the Order of Preachers, among the events of his brief pontificate was his revocation of Pope Boniface VIIIs papal bull, Unam Sanctam, on papal supremacy. He was beatified with his cultus confirmed by Pope Clement XII in 1736 and he is a patron of Treviso. Niccolò Boccasini was born in Treviso to Boccasio, a notary, whose brother was a priest, and Berarda. The family lived outside the walls of Treviso, in a suburb called S. Bartolommeo, in 1246, a Dominican friar left a sum of money in his will to Bernarda and her children, recently orphaned. A condition was that if Niccolò were to enter the Dominican Order he would receive half of the entire legacy, from the age of six, it seems, Niccolò was destined for the monkish life. His first teacher was his uncle, the priest of S. Andrea and he entered the Order of Preachers in 1254, at the age of fourteen, taking the habit of a novice in his native Treviso. He was taken to Venice by his Prior and presented to the Provincial, for the next seven years or so, Niccolò pursued his basic education in Venice. Toward the end of period, he served as tutor to the young sons of Romeo Quirini of Venice. In 1262, Niccolò was transferred to Milan, to the new studium of S. Eustorgio and he spent the next six years at S. Eustorgio. By the end of his term at S. Eustorgio he must have become a member of the Order of Preachers. As a professed brother he served in the position as a Lecturer in the studium in Venice. He served as lector for fourteen years, from 1268 to 1282, in 1276 he is attested as being lector at the Dominican convent in his native Treviso, a post he was still holding in 1280. In February,1282, he is found at Genoa, again as lector and he was not a professor, since he had never taken a university degree. In 1286, at the meeting of the Provincial Chapter, which took place that year in Brescia, Niccolò was elected Provincial Prior of Lombardy. Instead of being attached to a single convent for years, he would instead become peripatetic, moving from one convent to another on visits of inspection, encouragement. In Lombardy at the time there were some fifty-one convents and he also had responsibility as an Inquisitor, a task for which popes considered Franciscans and Dominicans especially suited. He also had the responsibility of convening the Provincial Chapters, in 1287, the Chapter was at Venice, in 1288, it was at Rimini, in 1289 at the General Chapter, which was held at Trier, Fr
25.
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
–
It is the oldest of and has precedence among the four papal major basilicas, all of which are in Rome, because it is the oldest church in the West and houses the cathedra of the Roman Pontiff. It has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful, the current archpriest is Agostino Vallini, Cardinal Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome. The archbasilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the fort was established by Septimius Severus in AD193. Following the victory of Emperor Constantine I over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the guard was abolished, substantial remains of the fort lie directly beneath the nave. The remainder of the site was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the palace of the gens Laterani, sextius Lateranus was the first plebeian to attain the rank of consul, and the Laterani served as administrators for several emperors. One of the Laterani, Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus, became famous for being accused by Nero of conspiracy against the Emperor, the accusation resulted in the confiscation and redistribution of his properties. The Lateran Palace fell into the hands of the Emperor when Constantine I married his second wife Fausta, known by that time as the Domus Faustae or House of Fausta, the Lateran Palace was eventually given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine I. The palace basilica was converted and extended, becoming the residence of Pope St. Silvester I, eventually becoming the Cathedral of Rome, Pope Sylvester I presided over the official dedication of the archbasilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace in 324, declaring both to be a Domus Dei. The papal cathedra was placed in its interior, rendering it the cathedral of the Pope qua Bishop of Rome, the archbasilica and Lateran Palace were re-dedicated twice. Pope Sergius III dedicated them to St. John the Baptist in the 10th century in honor of the newly consecrated baptistry of the archbasilica, Pope Lucius II dedicated them to St. John the Evangelist in the 12th century. Consequently, the archbasilica remains dedicated to the Savior, and its titular feast is the Feast of the Transfiguration, the archbasilica became the most important shrine of the two St. Johns, albeit infrequently jointly venerated. In later years, a Benedictine monastery was established in the Lateran Palace, and was devoted to serving the archbasilica, the Lateran Palace has also been the site of five ecumenical councils. During the time the papacy was seated in Avignon, France, the Lateran Palace, two fires ravaged them in 1307 and 1361. After both fires the pope sent money from Avignon to pay for their reconstruction and maintenance, nonetheless, the archbasilica and Lateran Palace lost their former splendor. When the papacy returned from Avignon and the pope again resided in Rome, the archbasilica, the popes resided at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere and later at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Eventually, the Palace of the Vatican was built adjacent to the Basilica of St. Peter, which existed since the time of Emperor Constantine I, and it has remained the official residence of the pope. The original Lateran Palace was demolished and replaced with a new edifice, on the square in front of the Lateran Palace is the largest standing obelisk in the world, known as the Lateran Obelisk. It weighs an estimated 455 tons and it was commissioned by the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III and erected by Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt
26.
Antipope
–
At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were supported by a fairly significant faction of religious cardinals and secular monarchs and kingdoms. Persons who claim to be pope, but have few followers, hippolytus of Rome is commonly considered to be the earliest antipope, as he headed a separate group within the Church in Rome against Pope Callixtus I. Hippolytus was reconciled to Callixtuss second successor, Pope Pontian, eusebius quotes from an unnamed earlier writer the story of Natalius, a 3rd-century priest who accepted the bishopric of a heretical group in Rome. Natalius soon repented and tearfully begged Pope Zephyrinus to receive him into communion, the period in which antipopes were most numerous was during the struggles between the popes and the Holy Roman Emperors of the 11th and 12th centuries. The emperors frequently imposed their own nominees to further their own causes, the popes, likewise, sometimes sponsored rival imperial claimants in Germany to overcome a particular emperor. The Pisan line was named after the town of Pisa, Italy, to end the schism, in May 1415, the Council of Constance deposed antipope John XXIII of the Pisan line. Pope Gregory XII of the Roman line resigned in July 1415, in 1417, the Council also formally deposed antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon, but he refused to resign. Afterwards, Pope Martin V was elected and was accepted everywhere except in the small, the scandal of the Western Schism created anti-papal sentiment and fed into the Protestant Reformation at the turn of the 16th century. The following table gives the names of the antipopes included in the list of popes and antipopes in the Annuario Pontificio, with the addition of the names of Natalius, an asterisk marks those who were included in the conventional numbering of later Popes who took the same name. More commonly, the antipope is ignored in later papal regnal numbers, for example, there was an Antipope John XXIII, for the additional confusion regarding Popes named John, see Pope John. The uncertainty that in some cases results has made it advisable to abandon the assignation of successive numbers in the list of the popes, the Catholic Encyclopedia places him in its List of Popes, but with the annotation, Considered by some to be an antipope. Other sources classify him as an antipope and those with asterisks were counted in subsequent Papal numbering. Many antipopes created cardinals, known as quasi-cardinals, and a few created cardinal-nephews, in modern times various people claim to be pope and, though they do not fit the technical definition of antipope, are sometimes referred to as such. They are usually leaders of sedevacantist groups who view the See of Rome as vacant, a significant number of these have taken the name Peter II, owing to its special significance. From the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, they are schismatics, the following were elected by allegedly faithful Catholics, none of whom was a cardinal, Popes of the Legio Maria, based in western Kenya, Timothy Joseph Blasio Atila. David Bawden, elected in Kansas, USA, another conclave, this time held in Assisi, Italy, elected the South African Victor von Pentz, an ex-seminarian of the Society of St Pius X, as Pope Linus II in 1994. Linus took up residence in Hertfordshire, England, Pope of the True Catholic Church, Lucian Pulvermacher, elected in Montana, USA. Mirko Fabris, elected in Zagreb, Croatia, joaquín Llorens, elected in Elx, Spain
27.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
28.
Cardinal (Catholicism)
–
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical leader, considered a Prince of the Church, and usually an ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals of the Church are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, the duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the Pope as requested. Most have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or managing a department of the Roman Curia, a cardinals primary duty is electing the pope when the see becomes vacant. During the sede vacante, the governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals where the pope is elected is limited to those who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the clergy of Rome. The term was applied in this sense as early as the century to the priests of the tituli of the diocese of Rome. The Church of England retains an instance of this origin of the title, which is held by the two senior members of the College of Minor Canons of St Pauls Cathedral. In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean principal, eminent, or superior. The name was given to the senior priest in each of the title churches of Rome. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome, by decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become pope. In 1059, during the pontificate of Nicholas II, cardinals were given the right to elect the pope under the Papal Bull In nomine Domini. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, Cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. In cities other than Rome, the name began to be applied to certain church men as a mark of honour. This meaning of the word spread rapidly, and from the 9th century various episcopal cities had a class among the clergy known as cardinals. The use of the title was reserved for the cardinals of Rome in 1567 by Pius V, in the year 1563 the influential Ecumenical Council of Trent, headed by Pope Pius IV, wrote about the importance of selecting good Cardinals. The earlier influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, in early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs
29.
Lottery
–
A lottery is a form of legalized government gambling that involves the drawing of numbers for a prize. Lotteries are outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to some degree of regulation of lottery by governments. This remained so well after World War II. In the 1960s casinos and lotteries began to re-appear throughout the world as a means for governments to raise revenue without raising taxes, for example, the prize can be a fixed amount of cash or goods. In this format there is risk to the organizer if insufficient tickets are sold, more commonly the prize fund will be a fixed percentage of the receipts. A popular form of this is the 50–50 draw where the promise that the prize will be 50% of the revenue. Many recent lotteries allow purchasers to select the numbers on the lottery ticket, the purchase of lottery tickets cannot be accounted for by decision models based on expected value maximization. The reason is that lottery tickets cost more than the gain, as shown by lottery mathematics. Yet, lottery purchases can be explained by decision models based on expected utility maximization, more general models based on utility functions defined on things other than the lottery outcomes can also account for lottery purchase. In addition to the prizes, the ticket may enable some purchasers to experience a thrill. If the entertainment value obtained by playing is enough for a given individual. The first recorded signs of a lottery are keno slips from the Chinese Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 BC and these lotteries are believed to have helped to finance major government projects like the Great Wall of China. From the Chinese The Book of Songs comes a reference to a game of chance as the drawing of wood, from the Celtic era, the Cornish words teulel pren translates into to throw wood and means to draw lots. The Iliad of Homer refers to lots being placed into Agamemnons helmet to determine who would fight Hector, the first known European lotteries were held during the Roman Empire, mainly as an amusement at dinner parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of items such as dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something and this type of lottery, however, was no more than the distribution of gifts by wealthy noblemen during the Saturnalian revelries. The earliest records of a lottery offering tickets for sale is the organized by Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar
30.
Pope Benedict XIV
–
Pope Benedict XIV, born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 17 August 1740 to his death in 1758. Perhaps one of the greatest scholars in Christendom, yet overlooked, he promoted scientific learning, the baroque arts, reinvigoration of Thomism. In terms of the governance of the Papal States, he reduced taxation, a scholar, he laid the groundwork for the present Vatican Museum. Horace Walpole described him as a priest without insolence or interest, a prince without favorites, Lambertini was born into a noble family of Bologna to Marcello Lambertini and Lucrezia Bulgarini, the third of five children. At the time of his birth, Bologna was the second largest city in the Papal States, at the age of thirteen, he began attending the Collegium Clementianum in Rome, where he studied rhetoric, Latin, philosophy, and theology. During his studies as a man, he often studied the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. While he enjoyed studying at Collegium Clementianum, the bent of his mind was well towards ecclesiastical and civil law, soon after, in 1694 at the age of nineteen, he received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology and Doctor Utriusque Juris. On the death of Innocent XII, he was made an advocate by Clement XI. Lambertini was consecrated a bishop in Rome, in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican Palace, on 16 July 1724, the co-consecrators were Giovanni Francesco Nicolai, titular Archbishop of Myra, and Nicola Maria Lercari, titular Archbishop of Nazianzus. He was made Bishop of Ancona in 1727 and he was created a cardinal in pectore, his name being published on 30 April 1728, and was subsequently made the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme on 10 May 1728. He also served as the Archbishop of Bologna, after the death of Pope Clement XII, Lambertini attended the papal conclave to choose a successor. It would last for six months, at first Cardinal Ottoboni, dean of the Sacred College, was favored to be elected, but a number of cardinals were opposed to this on account of the cardinal being protector of France. This appears to have assisted his cause for winning the election, which benefited from his reputation for deep learning, gentleness, wisdom. On 17 August 1740 he was elected in the evening and took his new name of Benedict XIV in honour of Pope Benedict XIII. He managed to overcome most of these problems — the Holy Sees disputes with the Kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, Spain, Venice and he had a very active papacy, reforming the education of priests, the calendar of feasts of the Church, and many papal institutions. Perhaps the most important act of Benedict XIVs pontificate was the promulgation of his famous laws about missions in the two bulls, Ex quo singulari and Omnium solicitudinum and this question was especially pressing in the case of an ancestor known not to have been a Christian. The choice of a Chinese translation for the name of God had also been debated since the early 17th century, Benedict XIV denounced these practices in these two bulls. The consequence of this was many of these converts left the Church
31.
Spanish Steps
–
The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The stairway was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi, following a competition in 1717 the steps were designed by the little-known Francesco de Sanctis, though Alessandro Specchi was long thought to have produced the winning entry. Generations of heated discussion over how the steep slope to the church on a shoulder of the Pincio should be urbanised preceded the final execution, archival drawings from the 1580s show that Pope Gregory XIII was interested in constructing a stair to the recently completed façade of the French church. Gaspar van Wittels view of the slope in 1683, before the Scalinata was built, is conserved in the Galleria Nazionale. Mazarin died in 1661, the pope in 1667, and Gueffiers will was contested by a nephew who claimed half. The Bourbon fleur-de-lys and Innocent XIIIs eagle and crown are carefully balanced in the sculptural details, the solution is a gigantic inflation of some conventions of terraced garden stairs. The Spanish Steps, which Joseph de Lalande and Charles de Brosses noted were already in poor condition, have restored several times. A new renovation commenced on May 30,2016 and the steps reopened on September 21,2016, the elder Bernini had been the popes architect for the Acqua Vergine, since 1623. According to a legend, Pope Urban VIII had the fountain installed after he had been impressed by a boat brought here by a flood of the Tiber river, at the top the stairway ramp up the Pincio which is the Pincian Hill. From the top of the steps the Villa Medici can be reached, during Christmas time a 19th-century criba manger is displayed on the first landing of the staircase. During Springtime, just before the anniversary of the foundation of Rome, April 21st, part of the steps are covered by pots of azaleas, in modern times the Spanish Steps have included a small cut-flower market. The steps are not a place for eating lunch, being forbidden by Roman urban regulations, the 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, made the Spanish Steps famous to an American audience. The apartment that was the setting for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is halfway up on the right, bernardo Bertoluccis Besieged is also set in a house next to the Steps. The Steps were featured prominently in the version of The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon in the title role. Norwegian singer/songwriter Morten Harket, from A-ha, released a song called Spanish Steps on his album Wild Seed in 1995. Marc Cohns song Walk Through the World, released in 1993 on the album The Rainy Season, includes the lyric From the Spanish Steps to the Liberty Bell, I know the angels have seen us. The title song from Guy Clarks Dublin Blues album contains the lyric, north American & Japanese versions of the Mindfields album released in 1999 by American rock band Toto include the song Spanish Steps of Rome as a bonus track. The song describes a femme fatale romance that takes place on, in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond which aired on October 2,2000, Ray, Debra, Frank, and Marie climb the Spanish Steps during a family vacation in Rome
32.
Camerino
–
Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 64 kilometres from Ancona, Camerino is home to the University of Camerino, founded in the Middle Ages. Camerino occupies the site of the ancient Camerinum, the inhabitants of which became allies of the Romans in 310 BC or 309 BC, on the other hand, the Katspriot referred to in the history of the year 295 BC are probably the inhabitants of Clusium. Later it appears as a dependent autonomous community with the foedus aequum, two cohorts of Camertes fought with distinction under Gaius Marius against the invading Germanic Cimbri. It was much affected by the conspiracy of Catiline, and is mentioned in the Civil Wars. It belonged to ancient Umbria, but was on the borders of Picenum, Camerino was part of the Exarchate of Ravenna until 592, when it was captured by the Lombards. The city under the latter was the seat of a marquisate and then of a duchy which was sometimes under the suzerainty of Spoleto, in the 10th to 11th centuries the city was under the Mainardi family. Boniface III of Tuscany occupied the duchy around 1050, and then ceded it to his daughter Matilda, after the year 1000, however, Camerino turned itself into an independent commune. Gentile formed a lasting fiefdom for his family which lasted three centuries, in 1382, his descendant Giovanni Da Varano built a 12-kilometre long wall to defend the city, while a sumptuous Ducal Palace was built by Giulio Cesare in 1460. Giulio Cesares daughter, Camilla Battista da Varano, was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, in 1336 the University was founded. The Da Varano were nearly extinguished by Cesare Borgia in 1502, in 1861, after Camerino become part of the unified Kingdom of Italy, the university was recognised by the new state. In 1958, the became known as the University of Camerino. No ancient building is today, the Roman remains lying as much as one metre below ground level. Principal sights include, Camerino Cathedral, built over a previous structured destroyed in 1799, the interior houses some artworks from the former edifice, including a wooden Crucifix dating back to the 13th century and a Madonna of Misericord from the 15th century. The crypt has two lions from the late 13th century, two busts from Berninis workshop and a marble medieval arch dedicated to Saint Ansovinus, a bishop of the city in the 9th century. San Venanzio, Late Gothic church also damaged in 1799, but retains part of the original façade, Ducal Palace, seat of the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the University, is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in central Italy. It was created in the late 15th century by Giulio Cesare Da Varano and it has a portico, a wide panoramic balcony, loggias and frescoed halls. Porta Malatestiana, built in 1511 Archbishops Palace, The museum includes a canvas by Gianbattista Tiepolo, a St. Sebastian from 1446, rocca di Borgia, designed by Ludovico Clodio for Cesare Borgia, dates from 1503
33.
Augustine of Hippo
–
Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Benedict XIII". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
