Cavalcade. Parallel.
This term generically referred to the procession that accompanied the Pope when he moved from his ordinary residence to different places in the city or prepared for a journey. When this did not occur in an absolutely private manner, it took place with greater or lesser solemnity depending on the circumstances. Until the mid-16th century and even later, such movements were made on horseback; cardinals, household members, and every other dignitary accompanying the Pope also rode on horseback. When the carriage became commonplace and ceased to be a rarity, two cardinals usually accompanied the Pope in his carriage, followed by service carriages and household members on horseback according to a new ceremonial that, following the customs of the time, was lavish and solemn.
Particular solemnity characterized the cavalcades that took place when the Pope traveled to the basilicas and churches of Rome on special days, for annual chapels or extraordinary visits, with the procession regulated according to the importance of the event; however, none matched the splendor of the cavalcade that occurred when the Pope moved from the Vatican to take possession, after his election, of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which was his titular church.
When the Pope’s ordinary and habitual residence was in the Lateran Palace, taking possession of the basilica was an immediate consequence for the Pope of his election or entry into the palace. However, after the return from Avignon, when the Pope took up habitual residence in the Vatican, on the very day he was crowned, he departed from there wearing the precious tiara, with a procession that grew ever longer and more elaborate: it included civic bodies and representatives, militias present in Rome along with palace guards, the entire prelature, and the Sacred College with their mounted retinues. Crossing Borgo, the procession passed over the Ponte Sant’Angelo, where the Pope received the homage of the Jews, proceeded through Parione along the richly adorned papal route, crossed the Forum, and via San Giovanni accompanied the Pope to the Basilica, where the ceremonies of taking possession were performed. Along the route, triumphal arches with inscriptions were not lacking, and in a gesture of liberality, coins were thrown to the people. Detailed descriptions and even copper engravings of such processions survive.
The splendor of the cardinals’ cavalcades corresponded to the wealth and power of each of them, especially when they belonged to the Pope’s family, were of princely origin, or represented princes and sovereigns at the Curia. In addition to the cavalcades that took place at the time of their election and their ascent to the public Consistory to receive the red hat, particular solemnity attended the cavalcade that accompanied a cardinal legate when, having received the cardinal’s cross in Consistory, he set out for his assigned country, accompanied as far as the city gate by his colleagues and their families, or when, upon his return to the Curia, he was escorted from the gate to the Consistory, where he delivered his public report on his legation.
When a sovereign or illustrious prince or a solemn embassy approached the city, it was the duty of the cardinals to go out to meet them at the gates with their families on horseback, to lend solemnity to the entry. Individual cardinals likewise did this on their own initiative upon the arrival or departure of a particularly close colleague, an ambassador—especially if from their own country—or another distinguished personage; when they did not participate personally in the cavalcade, they sent household members with caparisoned mules as a mark of honor.
There were also other solemn cavalcades, such as that of the auditors of the Roman Rota on the day when, accompanied by all the curial officials, they inaugurated the judicial year, or those in which the higher papal officials performed special solemn acts pertaining to their office. — See Pl. LXVIII.