The POPE Encyclopedia

by Matthew Bunson

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RESIDENCES OF THE POPES

 
While the popes  today  make  their  official  home  in  the
Vatican,  throughout  most  of papal history they resided at
the Lateran Palace, which became their  home  in  the  early
fourth  century.  During  the  Middle  Ages, they spent many
years away from Rome owing to squabbles with the Romans, the
dangers  posed  by  ever-scheming noble families of Rome, or
the frequent seizure of the city by Holy Roman  emperors  as
part  of  some  struggle with the papacy. The longest period
during which the Vicars  of  Christ  lived  outside  of  the
Eternal City was from 1309 to 1377, when they were ensconced
in Avignon. Other cities that served as a residence, perhaps
for  a  few  years,  to  wandering  popes  included  Anagni,
Orvieto, and Viterbo (which had its own papal palace).  From
the  time  that  Gregory XI (1370-1378) finally went back to
Rome, the popes have resided at  the  Vatican,  with  a  few
notable  exceptions. Clement VII (1523-1534) first fled Rome
following the sack of the city by imperial  troops  in  1527
and  lived  for  a  time in Orvieto. Pius VI (1774-1799) and
Pius VII (l800-1823) were both arrested, in  1798  and  1809
respectively,  by  the French and deported. Pius VI lived in
Florence, Briancon, and Valence, dying in  exile,  and  Pius
VII was incarcerated in Savona and Fontainebleau, and hid in
Genoa briefly in 1815 when Napoleon returned  from  Elba  to
launch  his  100  days  campaign. Pius IX (1846-1878) had to
flee a revolution in Rome in 1848, escaping to  Gaeta,  near
Rome, dressed as a simple priest.
 
In  Rome,  popes  have  lived  in the Lateran Palace and the
Vatican Palace, but they also have resided in  Castel  Sant'
Angelo    (when    things    became    rather    politically
uncomfortable), theQuirinal Palace (which had better air  in
the summer and which was taken by King Victor Emmanuel II in
1870, proimpting Pius IX to declare  that  buckets  of  holy
water  could not wash clean such a desecration), anol Castel
Gandolfo (allowing the popes  to  escape  Rome's  oppressive
heat)  in  the cool Alban Hills, just outside the city. (See
also  Avignon;  Castel  Gandolfo;  Castel  Sant'Angelo;  and
Lateran Palace.)

(sebelum, sesudah)


THE POPE ENCYCLOPEDIA - Matthew Bunson
Published by Crown Trade Paperbacks
201 East 50th Street, New York
New York 10022, USA
ISBN 0-517-88256-6
 

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