PIO VII, of Cesena, Barnaba (Gregorio) Chiaramonti, 14, 21 March 1800 – 20 Aug. 1823.
LEO XII, of Genga (Fabriano), Annibale della Genga, 28 Sept., 5 Oct. 1823 – 10 Feb. 1829.
PIO VIII, of Cingoli, Francesco Saverio Castiglioni, 31 March, 5 Apr. 1829 – 30 Nov. 1830.
GREGORY XVI, of Belluno, Bartolomeo Alberto (Mauro) Cappellari, 2, 6 Feb. 1831 – 1 June 1846.
PIO IX, of Senigallia, Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, 16, 21 June 1846 – 7 Feb. 1878.
LEO XIII, of Carpineto (Anagni), Gioacchino Pecci, 20 Feb., 3 March 1878 – 20 July 1903.
B. Pius X, of Riese (Treviso), Giuseppe Sarto, 4, 9 Aug. 1903 – 20 Aug. 1914.
BENEDICT XV, of Genoa, Giacomo della Chiesa, 8, 6 Sept. 1914 – 22 Jan. 1922.
PIO XI, of Desio (Milan), Achille Ratti, 6, 12 Feb. 1922 – 10 Feb. 1939.
PIO XII, of Rome, Eugenio Pacelli, 2, 12 March 1939.
V. THE NUMBER OF THE POPES — Despite the utmost care in scrutinising the sources, the list of popes remains uncertain in more than one instance up to the election of Martin V (1417); from this pope to the reigning pontiff the series presents no further doubt. The principal cases of doubt are constituted by: 1) the double names: Cletus-Anacletus, probably one and the same person, although the duplication dates back to the 4th century and perhaps already to the 3rd, and Marcellinus-Marcellus, yet the hypothesis that would make them a single person has not met with the assent of critics; 2) doubtful antipopes or those improperly so called (v. ANTIPOPE); 3) elections that remained without effect because they were not followed by the ordination or episcopal consecration of the elector, which, according to the juridical norms current before St Gregory VII, was the sine qua non for the elector to be regularly regarded as pope: this is the case of Stephen II, elected between 16 and 23 March 752, who died two days later without ordination and is therefore not historically or juridically a pope; 4) certain papal elections of the late 9th century that provoked the liveliest controversies and culminated in the infamous Cadaver Synod. The origin of these disputes is to be traced to the election of Marino, bishop of Caere (882), the first instance of a bishop becoming pope, and above all to that of Formosus (891), bishop of Porto. The uncanonical character of these two elections was noted by contemporaries, but the dissent erupted violently with the succession of Theodore II (d. Dec. 897) and the formation of the Formosan and anti-Formosan parties: there then occurred two elections—John IX (Jan. 898), who was immediately accepted, and Sergius III, bishop of Caere, who had to leave Rome until, in 904, after the overthrow of the antipope Christopher, he succeeded in being enthroned on 29 Jan. Sergius never regarded as legitimate either John IX and his successors or Formosus. Faced with these facts the historian remains perplexed, even while accepting the papal series as it emerges from the various sources; 5) the deposition of John XII by Otto I at the Roman synod of 4 Dec. 963: the Church was certainly freed from an unworthy pontiff, but this occurred in disregard of canonical rules and more for political than moral reasons. Leo VIII, imposed by Otto, should therefore be placed among the antipopes, and the true successor of John XII should be Benedict V, elected at John’s death (964); yet ancient catalogues take the opposite view; 6) the insertion in the catalogues of non-existent popes, such as in 972 or 974 Donus II (Domnus or Bonus) and John XX, created through the duplication of John XV (John XVI, moreover, is an antipope); 7) the exceedingly tangled successions of Benedict IX (1014), Stephen IX (1057) and Honorius II (1124); 8) the situation arising from the existence of three “obediences” at the beginning of the 15th century, which came to an end with the Council of Constance, which for the good of the Church acted more by authority than in accordance with traditional norms. Depending therefore on the solutions adopted for certain of these intricate problems, the number of popes increases or decreases. According to our chronology the true popes would be 258, including Diocletian and Celestine II Bucapecus, to be regarded as authentic popes. The true antipopes would be 36, including Vigilius, who was later legitimised. The doubtful antipopes would be 2, in addition to the unclear beginnings of the pontificates of Boniface II, Eugenius I, Sergius III, Gregory VI and Clement II; those improperly so called would be 9. As regards place of origin (for the early centuries the Liber Pontificalis remains an unverifiable source), the popes may be distributed as follows: Romans 100; Italians 106; foreigners 50; of unspecified origin 2. As regards cult, 77 popes are venerated as saints; 8 as blessed; one antipope, Hippolytus, as a holy martyr.
VI. PORTRAITS OF THE POPES — For the ancient and medieval popes one has, more than true likenesses reproducing their personal features, iconographic types that are repeated with few variations. For the modern and contemporary man, on the other hand, authentic portraits abound. Among the collections of portraits of popes the following should be noted: 1) the series painted in fresco in the basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, begun under Leo the Great, continued at the end of the 9th century by Pope Formosus, under Nicholas III at the end of the 13th century, by Benedict XIV c. 1750, and completely redone in mosaic after the fire of 1823; 2) those painted in fresco in St Peter’s and the Lateran following restorations; 3) that in San Piero a Grado (near Pisa), which now ends with John XVII, attributed to Deodato Orlandi (1300–12); 4) the canvas series in the Altieri Palace at Oriolo, from the time of Clement X, still kept up to date; 5) that in Marino in the Colonna house, now the town hall (under the pontificate of Gregory XVI). In the 15th century the cathedral of Siena was provided with a complete series of busts of the popes. Another series of 40 oval medallions with portraits of the early saintly popes runs along the marble revetments of the internal piers of the minor naves of St Peter’s in the Vatican (bas-reliefs by pupils of Bernini; Innocent I, 1644–55).
In our plates LVIII–LXII the complete series of portraits of the popes is given, reproduced on medals struck during each pontificate, from Nicholas V to Pius XII.
VII. ARMS OF THE POPES — Many ancient and modern collections of papal arms exist, but a critical edition in the full sense of the word is still lacking. Our heraldically drawn series of arms begins with Innocent III; for Urban IV (1261–64) and the Avignon popes (1309–76) recourse has been had to an excellent article in the Revue de l’art chrétien, 51 (1908), pp. 254–65, 409–11; for the antipope Clement VII to Galbreath; for the other antipopes and popes up to the present day to the arms found on monuments, almost all Roman, checked one by one by Dr Witold Wehr. It should be noted that it is often difficult to determine exactly the metals or enamels used, since in most cases these are sculptures; likewise certain figures remain uncertain because they were drawn or carved in various ways by contemporaries, even in models of arms that are truly authentic.
VIII. BURIAL OF THE POPES — At the respective entries will be found the indication of the burial place of each pope. It may be recalled here that the Liber Pontificalis gives as the burial place for the popes of the 1st and 2nd centuries St Peter’s in the Vatican; now, in the course of excavations carried out to identify the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, no elements capable of confirming this information have come to light in the zone explored. In the 3rd century the popes were buried in the cemetery of St Calixtus; in the 4th and 5th centuries in various cemeteries: Calixtus, Priscilla, Balbina, Calepodius, etc., and in the basilicas of St Lawrence and St Paul. Leo the Great was again buried in the Vatican, in the basilica of St Peter, which then became the preferred burial place for most of the popes.
On the primacy of the pope: V. PRIMACY OF ST PETER AND OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF.
V. in DACL, XIII, 1, 1097-1111
II. - Besides the bibliography of the entries CONCLAVE and INCORONAZIONE, cf. G. J. Ebers, Der Papst u. die römische Kurie, I. Wahl, Ordination u. Krönungen des Papstes, Paderborn 1916 (collection of texts); C. Mirbt, Quellen s. Geschichte der Papsttums u. des römischen Katholizismus, 5th anastatic ed., Tübingen 1924 (the author of the collection is Protestant), H. Leclercq, Papa, in DACL, XIII, 1, 1111-1134. - III. - Besides the bibliography of the entry ANTIPAPA: CATALOGHI DI PAPI E DI VESCOVI, cf. L. Duchesne, Lib. Pont., most of the material reproduced therein deals with the questions here touched upon; Th. Mommsen in the Introduction to his edition of the Lib. Pont., in MGH, Regesta pontificum Romanorum, Hanover 1898, pp. XXVIII-LXIX, discusses the Ordo et statis app. Romanorum; H. K. Mann, The lives of the popes in the Middle ages, 19 vols., London 1902-32; A. Cappelli, Cronologia, cronografia e calendario perpetuo, 2nd ed., Milan 1930, pp. 206-289; A. Mercati, La serie dei p. nell'Annuario pontificio per l'anno 1947, in L'osservatore romano, 19 Jan. 1947 (English version in Medieval Studies, 9 [1947], pp. 71-80). - V. - L. Duchesne, Le nombre des papes, in Miscellanea di Storia ecc. e di studi ausiliari, 2 (1903), pp. 3-8; R. L. Poole, The names and numbers of medieval Popes, in The English historical Review, 32 (1917), pp. 465-78, cf. also pp. 204-14. - VI. - P. D'Achiardi, Gli affreschi di S. Piero a Grado presso Pisa..., in Atti del Congr. internazionale di scienze stor. (Rome, 19 Apr. 1903), VII, Rome 1905, pp. 193-285, cf. pp. 270-289; H. K. Mann, The portraits of the Popes, in Papers of the British School at Rome, 9 (1920), pp. 159-204; L. De Bruyne, L'antica serie di ritratti papali della basilica di S. Paolo fuori le Mura, Vatican City 1934; G. Ladner, I ritratti dei p. nell'antichità e nel medioevo, I. Dalle origini fino alla fine della lotta delle investiture, Vatican City 1941; H. Leclercq, Pape, in DACL, XIII, 1, cols. 1139-47. - VII. - Among the numerous collections of papal coats of arms, mention should be made of those by: O. Panvinio, Epitome pontificum Romanorum, already cited; A. Ciacconio, Vitae et gesta already cited; G. Gigli, Selva di Varia, cod. Vat. Ottob. lat. 2976, written at the end of 1644; F. Pasini-Frassoni, Essai d'armorial des papes d'après les manuscrits du Vatican et les monuments publics, Rome 1906; excerpt from Rivista del Collegio araldico, 3 (1905), pp. 706-13; 4 (1906), pp. 17-32, 81-96; H. G. Stroeh, Album Pontificale, Munich Gladbach 1909; R. Granozio, Stemmi e p., Rome 1936; D. L. Galbreath, A treatise in eccl. Heraldry, I. Papal Heraldry, Cambridge 1930; C. Erdmann, Das Wappen u. die Fahne der römischen Kirche (Quellen u. Forschungen aus ital. Archiv. u. Biblioth., 22), 1930, pp. 227-255. - VIII. - F. Gregorovius, Die Grabenkämler der Päpste, Leipzig 1881 (Italian trans., 2nd ed. revised and expanded by C. Huelsen, Rome 1931); H. K. Mann, Tombs and portraits of the Popes of the Middle ages, London (1929); B. M. Apollonij Ghetti-A. Ferrara-E. Josi-E. Kirschbaum, Explorazioni sotto la Confessione di S. Pietro in Vaticano, Vatican City 1951, p. 27.IX. ACTS OF THE POPES
The imposing mass of papal documents, while representing a primary historical source in relation to their recipients, is also a faithful testimony to the pastoral zeal of the popes and a principal element for reconstructing their itineraries, in periods when the papal court, due to the particular preferences of reigning popes or external causes, moved from one see to another (always remaining, however, the principle of the supreme governance of the Church being tied to the See of Rome). Such documents are scattered through countless archives, of which they almost always represent the most precious "pieces"; the series of registers (v.), which begins to be systematic only with the pontificate of Innocent III, is instead preserved in the Vatican Secret Archive. With the introduction of printing, the value of these acts was not overlooked, and numerous initiatives were undertaken to collect in corpore documents of varying size and importance, which are generally included under the name of "Bullaria," even though not all the documents contained therein fall under the category of "bulls."Apart from an incunable (Nuremberg 1481 [?]) and numerous 16th-century editions (the most important being that of Cardinal Antonio Carafa, Epistolae decretales Summorum Pontificum, 3 vols., Rome 1591, inspired by Sixtus V and interrupted with respect to the original plan; it contains the bulls from Clement I to Gregory VII), the most important collections date from the 17th and 18th centuries. The series opens with the Bullarium magnum Cherubinorum, begun by Laerzio Cherubini at the end of the 16th century (922 acts from Leo the Great to Sixtus V, 3 vols., Rome 1586; 2nd ed. 1617; the same editor also produced the edition of the constitutions of Sixtus V, Rome 1586 and 1588), which was given its most extensive form by his son, the Benedictine Angelo Maria Cherubini. He published, as the 3rd edition of his father's collection, a Bullarium Romanum novissimum a b. Leone Magno usque ad S. D. N. Urbanum VIII (4 vols., Rome 1634-44), later extending it (4th ed.) up to Innocent X (Lyons 1655; 2nd ed. 4 vols. of this edition are on the Index "donec expurgentur" for the intrusion of a false bull and the alteration of another). In 1659 an Appendix appeared in Viterbo; then P. Angiolo di Lantusca and Giovanni Paolo di Roma prepared a new edition (5th, but indicated as 6th for having included the Appendix in the task), published in 6 vols. in Rome in 1669 and 1672, in which the material extends up to Clement X (reprint in Lyons in 1673 and 1697). Finally, the 6th edition, much more extensive but not more accurate, appeared in Geneva (though the title page indicates Luxembourg) starting in 1727 (vols. I-VIII; in 1730 vols. IX-X). From 1741 various supplements were issued, bringing the volumes to 19 [the last being from 1758], reaching the pontificate of Benedict XIV; the acts of this pope, however, are only copied from the Roman edition of Mainardi [V. below]. A brother of Angelo Maria, Flavio Cherubini, also edited a Compendium bullarii a patre editi, Rome 1623 (other editions in Lyons, 1624 and 1638).
Another important collection, though of more modest proportions, is that of P. Coustant (in collaboration with S. Mopinot), Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum et ea quae ad eos scriptae sunt, from St. Clement I to Innocent III, left unfinished at vol. I (Paris 1721); the material stops at the year 440. Schönemann produced a 2nd ed. (Göttingen 1706), which contains some omissions and additions. The edition by A. Thiel is usually considered the 3rd edition of Coustant's work, Epistolae Romanorum pontificum genuinae et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a s. Hilario usque ad Pelagium II, also left unfinished (at St. Ormisdia; vol. I, Braunsberg 1868).
Extremely vast, and certainly the most famous, is the Bullarium magnum seu novissima et accuratissima bibliotheca apostolicarum constitutionum by C. Cocquelines, in 14 volumes and 28 parts (Rome 1739–62; the first 6 volumes [parts I–XX], under the title Bullarium, privilegiorum ac diplomatum Romanorum pontificum amplissima collectio, are essentially a greatly expanded reissue of Cherubini’s work; the last 5 were published after Cocquelines’ death, without his name); the acts extend to the pontificate of Benedict XIV. This collection overlaps in various ways with another, whose history is quite tangled: the Bullarium magnum of G. Mainardi, generally reckoned as 18 volumes (Luxembourg and Rome 1733–58), which is said to include documents from Leo the Great to Benedict XIV. In reality only 12 volumes are by Mainardi: he originally conceived the idea of producing a supplement to the last Roman edition (1669–72) of Cherubini’s Bullarium; thus in his vol. I (which he called VII) he reprinted the acts of Clement X; he then proceeded as far as the early years of the pontificate of Mantua (3 volumes in 17 parts, 1734–44); finally he added the 4 volumes of the Bullarium of Benedict XIV (1754–58), while entrusting the re-edition of Cherubini’s volumes to Cocquelines. Mainardi’s work was abridged by L. Guerra, Pontificarum constitutionum... epitome (4 volumes, Venice 1772), and continued up to the first four years of the pontificate of Gregory XVI by A. Barberi, A. Spetia, R. Secreti, Bullarii Romani continuato, 9 volumes in 19 parts, Rome 1835–57.
The Bullarium, diplomatum et privilegiorum s. Romanorum pontificum Taurinensis editio, published by Tomasetti under the care of Cardinal F. Gaude, archbishop of Turin, in 22 volumes (Turin 1857–72), plus 1 volume of Appendix (ibid. 1867), likewise enjoyed wide renown; it was then continued in Naples under the patronage of Cardinal Sanfelice (5 volumes, 1867–85).
The multiplication of acts and the discovery of others buried in archives, however, increasingly made a comprehensive edition problematic; instead, specialized bullaria appeared (of individual popes, of the Sacred Congregations, of religious and knightly orders, of episcopal sees, etc.), alongside the publication of registers compiled with rigorous scholarly method but limited to the period from the origins to the early fourteenth century (v. REGESTO). Alessandro Pratesi
X. PAPAL MEDALS
They constitute an exceedingly rich body of medallic products from about the mid-fifteenth century to the present day. Produced almost annually in one or more variants by every pope, alongside papal coinage, these pieces—contemporary with each individual pontiff—illustrate his history in terms of his merits in every field, while reflecting and repeating the technique and art of the period to which they belong. Thus initially they were cast, and the designs conceived and executed according to the canons of the newly inaugurated Renaissance medallic art in Italy; then, from about the mid-sixteenth century, they were struck and increasingly conformed to the monetary art of successive epochs, the pieces being engraved and struck at the Roman mint.With this in mind, numerous groups of pieces that have been abusively inserted into the proper papal series over the centuries—and which have belonged to it almost down to the present day—must be rejected from the true papal series. First of all, there is a mass of cast pieces depicting almost every pope from St Peter to Martin V, which are still sometimes distinguished into two groups differentiated by certain extrinsic, technical, and typological features; but the types are without exception of minimal artistic, iconographic, and historical value. It has long been recognized that the Milanese G. B. Pozzi, of the late sixteenth century, was the author of these forgeries; he worked imaginatively, creating conventional portraits that differ for the same figures in the two series (cf. Gregory VII, Innocent IV, Clement IV, Adrian V, Innocent VII, Gregory XII); these pieces could not be attributed to the same person without the explanatory legend. Similarly, the reverses are crude and undecorated, devoid of any meaningful content.
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1184. 1185. 1186. 1187. 1188. 1189. 1190. 1191. 1192. 1193. 1194. 1195. 1196. 1197. 1198. 1199. 1200. 1201. 1202. 1203. 1204. 1205. 1206. 1207. 1208. 1209. 1210. 1211. 1212. 1213. 1214. 1215. 1216. 1217. 1218. 1219. 1220. 1221. 1222. 1223. 1224. 1225. 1226. 1227. 1228. 1229. 1230. 1231. 1232. 1233. 1234. 1235. 1236. 1237. 1238. 1239. 1240. 1241. 1242. 1243. 1244. 1245. 1246. 1247. 1248. 1249. 1250. 1251. 1252. 1253. 1254. 1255. 1256. 1257. 1258. 1259. 1260. 1261. 1262. 1263. 1264. 1265. 1266. 1267. 1268. 1269. 1270. 1271. 1272. 1273. 1274. 1275. 1276. 1277. 1278. 1279. 1280. 1281. 1282. 1283. 1284. 1285. 1286. 1287. 1288. 1289. 1290. 1291. 1292. 1293. 1294. 1295. 1296. 1297. 1298. 1299. 1300. 1301. 1302. 1303. 1304. 1305. 1306. 1307. 1308. 1309. 1310. 1311. 1312. 1313. 1314. 1315. 1316. 1317. 1318. 1319. 1320. 1321. 1322. 1323. 1324. 1325. 1326. 1327. 1328. 1329. 1330. 1331. 1332. 1333. 1334. 1335. 1336. 1337. 1338. 1339. 1340. 1341. 1342. 1343. 1344. 1345. 1346. 1347. 1348. 1349. 1350. 1351. 1352. 1353. 1354. 1355. 1356. 1357. 1358. 1359. 1360. 1361. 1362. 1363. 1364. 1365. 1366. 1367. 1368. 1369. 1370. 1371. 1372. 1373. 1374. 1375. 1376. 1377. 1378. 1379. 1380. 1381. 1382. 1383. 1384. 1385. 1386. 1387. 1388. 1389. 1390. 1391. 1392. 1393. 1394. 1395. 1396. 1397. 1398. 1399. 1400. 1401. 1402. 1403. 1404. 1405. 1406. 1407. 1408. 1409. 1410. 1411. 1412. 1413. 1414. 1415. 1416. 1417. 1418. 1419. 1420. 1421. 1422. 1423. 1424. 1425. 1426. 1427. 1428. 1429. 1430. 1431. 1432. 1433. 1434. 1435. 1436. 1437. 1438. 1439. 1440. 1441. 1442. 1443. 1444. 1445. 1446. 1447. 1448. 1449. 1450. 1451. 1452. 1453. 1454. 1455. 1456. 1457. 1458. 1459. 1460. 1461. 1462. 1463. 1464. 1465. 1466. 1467. 1468. 1469. 1470. 1471. 1472. 1473. 1474. 1475. 1476. 1477. 1478. 1479. 1480. 1481. 1482. 1483. 1484. 1485. 1486. 1487. 1488. 1489. 1490. 1491. 1492. 1493. 1494. 1495. 1496. 1497. 1498. 1499. 1500. 1501. 1502. 1503. 1504. 1505. 1506. 1507. 1508. 1509. 1510. 1511. 1512. 1513. 1514. 1515. 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Personal or family-related or historical types, but they are emblematic types contained within the restricted scope of papal religious symbolism, with the most generic meaning: less banal types are found for St. Marcellus, for Paschal I, for John XXI, etc.
Another rich group of struck pieces presents the characteristics of 16th-century art and depicts popes at least from Martin V to Pius IV or Pius V; it can be inferred that specimens of John XXII, Boniface IX, Gregory XII, Innocent VII, etc., also belong to this series. For this struck series, the name of Paladino is mentioned, a well-known engraver and medallist of the second half of the 16th century. The portraits are more refined in their realism, even if their adherence to the depicted type is contested; the technique of the period appears more refined, the reverses present the same familiar themes of individual popes and a few more complex types commemorating their accession to the throne, Jubilee ceremonies, or some canonizations. These types repeat identically for the various popes who constitute this series. It is believed that these are restorative pieces, i.e., repetitions of pre-existing and now-lost specimens; but in reality, these never existed.
The authentic papal series begins in the mid-15th century, and even for the 16th century, it is not rich in pieces. These products do not bear famous signatures, though they reveal the work of engravers and medallists such as Guazzalotti, Lysippus, Vittor Camelio, Fioravanti, Caradossio, Cellini, Leone Leoni, and Federico Parmense, to name only the most renowned.
It has also been rightly recognized that in Rome there was no true school of medallists identifiable by a distinctive style; and that the artists working there, from Nicholas V through the entire 16th century, immigrated from various Italian cities and their schools. Ultimately, their production is far better represented by non-Roman medals: even for Cellini, it can be affirmed that the characteristics of his precious art are far more evident and appreciable in any other work of his chisel than in the coins and medals of Rome. Yet it must also be borne in mind that in Rome their production assumed an individual physiognomy due to the environment, the dependence and relations of the artists with the papal court, and thus the obligations inherent in their official production, restricted to the subjects commissioned to them and which they were obliged to treat and repeat for subsequent emissions.
The medals of the true papal series, i.e., contemporary with the popes whose name and portrait they bear, begin with a few cast pieces from Nicholas V, Callistus III, and Pius II. Nicholas’s medal is posthumous and, signed by Guazzalotti of Prato, depicts the Pope seated in a boat inscribed *Ecclesia*; the design and technique are rough, yet the ensemble exudes simplicity and naturalness. The same artist is attributed the anonymous piece of Callistus III, with a magnificent portrait and the papal coat of arms; the two cast specimens of Pius II, anonymous and cast, one (NUDUS EGRESSUS SIC REDIBO) with the coat of arms, the other with the well-known reverse copied from Vittorino da Feltre’s medal by Pisanello, showing the pelican feeding its young with its own blood (*ALES UT HEC CORDIS PAVI DE SANGUINE NATOS*).
More numerous are the pieces of Paul II, all cast and largely anonymous; their types commemorate the building activity of the pope, already begun as a cardinal (cf. the pieces: *HAS AEDES CONDIDIT... HANC ARCEM CONDIDIT*, for the Palazzo San Marco, etc.). Other anonymous pieces are attributed to Cristoforo di Geremia and depict the house of the physician Gottifredo, the tribune of St. Peter, etc. The same artist is attributed the fine oval medals dedicated *PAULO VENETO PAPAE II ITALICAE PACIS FUNDATORI*, with a magnificent portrait. Only one piece (*LETITIA SCOLATICA*) bears the signature of Aristide Fioravanti of Bologna (A. BO.).
In the series of Paul II, a special place is occupied by the large medal of the Consistory of 1466, 78 mm in diameter, of unknown author (the names of Andrea Niccolò of Viterbo, Pier Matteo Orfini, and also the Bolognese Fioravanti are suggested). The piece presents types of minimal relief but with a clear design in the details of the two scenes. One depicts the Consistory presided over by the pope enthroned, surrounded by his court (*SACRUM PUBLICUM CONCISTORUM PAULUS VENETUS (A)(P)(A) II*); the other, in the upper field, Christ seated in glory at the center of a sunburst surrounded by innumerable angels, with nimbed saints at the sides, and in the lower field, on either side of an altar surmounted by the Crucifix and flanked by the Virgin and St. John, a scene of the Last Judgment. An infinity of seated and standing figures fill the two scenes in a symmetrical arrangement that, due to the variety of poses, avoids monotony or tedium. Two specimens in gold, valued at 20 ducats, were known, and bronze cast reproductions of the gold are fairly common.
A certain number of anonymous pieces of Sixtus IV are attributed to Guazzalotti and Lysippus; only one piece is signed by Vittor Camelio. The first is attributed to Guazzalotti: the medal for the liberation of Otranto from the Turks by Alfonso, Duke of Calabria, commander of the papal army (*PARCERE SUBIECTIS ET DEBELLARE SUPERBOS SINTE POTES-CONSTANTIA-MICCCCLXXXI*), where the figure of *Constantia* repeats that of the medal of Dotti of Padua attributed to Geremia; and the specimen with the reverse known from Geremia’s own medal for Constantine. To Lysippus are attributed two anonymous medals, one with the Sistine Bridge (*CURA RERUM PUBLICARUM*) and one with the coronation of the pope. Vittor Camelio has signed only one cast medal with the depiction of the papal audience (*OPUS VICTORIS CAMELI VENETI* [on the reverse]), which truly possesses something of the characteristic strength of the 15th century.
Three cast medals of Innocent VIII are contemporary with him. They are anonymous: two with the reverse *IUSTITIA-PAX-COPIA* and the three personifications; the third with *INNOCENTIA MEA INGRESSUS SUM* and the papal coat of arms; they are attributed to Pollaiuolo, or Francia, or even Niccolò Fiorentino.
The four known medals of Alexander VI are attributed by style to the Milanese Caradossio; they are cast. The first depicts the scene of the coronation (*CORONAT*); the second, in two variants, with Castel Sant’Angelo and the homonymous bridge (*ARC(EM) IN MOLE DIVI HADR(IANI) INSTAUR(avit) FOSS(is) AC PROPUGNAC(ul) MUN(ivit), and MOLIEM HADRIANI VALLI FOSSIS PROPUGNAC(ul) LIS CORRIDOR(um)QUE CINXIT*); the last shows the Borgia choir crowned by an angel: *OB SAPIENTIAM CUM FORTUNA CONIUNCT(am)*.
Caradossio is also attributed some medals of Julius II, all anonymous. First is the piece of 1506 (*INSTAURATIO TEMPLI PETRI - VATICANUS MONS*) with the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica according to Bramante’s design; then the piece with the landscape, the shepherd, and the flock (*PEDO SERVATAS OVES AD REQUIEM AGO*). To Francia is attributed the piece *CONTRA STIMULUM NE CALCITRES* with the fall of St. Paul from his horse, a lively scene of great effect. Signed by V. Camelio (v. C) is the piece of 1506 (*PASCITE QUI IN VOBIS EST GREGEM DEI*) with the scene of Peter giving the keys to the kneeling pope at Christ’s feet; another piece of 1506 is by G. C. Romano (*IUSTITIAE PACIS FIDEIQUE RECUPERATOR*). To this artist are also attributed other pieces, including one with Civitavecchia; a second with a castle of three towers (*IURI REDDENDO*), perhaps the design for the Palazzo di Giustizia in Via Giulia; a third with *TUTELA* and the shepherd with his flock; and a fourth (*VATICANUS MONS VIA IULIA ADIT*) with a complex view of the palace and terraces of the Vatican.
For Leo X, no signed medals are known, and the attribution of the few specimens bearing his name to contemporary engravers is highly uncertain.
From this point onward, the technique of minting proper to coinage was also adopted for medals, resulting in a decrease in artistic value and an ever-closer adherence between the two products of the same Roman mint.
The medals by Cellini for Clement VII are two: the signed one (*CLAUDUNTUR BELLI PORTAE*), commemorating the peace between the Pope and the Emperor, and the other anonymous one (*UT BIBAT POPULUS*), with Moses causing water to gush from the rock, for the execution of the Orvieto piece. Among the other medals of Clement VII are works by Giovanni Bernardi of Castel Bolognese and Francesco Ortensi, son of Girolamo Dal Prato; the former is attributed the magnificent specimen *EGO SUM IOSEPH FRATER VESTER*, which some prefer to consider as by Cellini’s hand; the latter, a piece of lesser art (*POST MULTA PLURIMA RESTANT*), with Christ bound to the column, a type alluding to the sufferings endured by the Pope during the Sack of Rome.
Some medals of Paul III are attributed to Leone Leoni, featuring fleeing knights under a hail of stones (*DOMINUS CUSTODIT TE — DOMINUS PROTECTIO TUA*), alluding to the flight of the corsair Barbarossa; and *SECURITAS TEMPORUM* (signed *LEO*), with three horses at the starting post; finally, Rome seated beside the she-wolf and the Tiber. Alessandro Cesati, known as il Grechetto, signed only one medal of Paul III (*OMNES REGES SERVIENTI*), with Alexander kneeling before the high priest, a type already of grandiose conception, betraying the exaggerated style and forms of the late 16th century. Six or seven other medals are attributed to him, but only by tradition or on questionable testimony: among them, the specimen with the façade of St. Peter’s, the classical-inspired *SECURITAS P(OPULI) R(OMANI)*, and another, of melodramatic effect but original inspiration, with Ganymede inflating the Farnese lily beside the imperial eagle. To Federico Bonzagna of Parma are attributed the pieces *ALMA ROMA*, *HARUM AEDIUM FUNDATOR*, with the Palazzo Farnese, and *IN VIRTUTE TUA SERVATI SUMUS*, with the lion; finally, the view of Parma, etc. Some medals of Julius III are signed by him, and his production continued under Paul IV, Pius IV, and Gregory XIII. The art is already in decline and somewhat neglected; the inspiration for the few new types under Julius III is deficient, while repetitions of earlier series become ever more numerous.
From Cavino, the famous forger of the period, is signed the medal *ANGLA RESURGENS — UT NUNC NOVISSIMO DIE*, struck on the occasion of the marriage of Mary Tudor to Philip II in 1554; a few Jubilee medals are signed by Cesati together with the specimen *KPATOUMAI*. But the majority are anonymous and unattributable.
A medal of Marcellus II, who reigned for only 23 days, is signed by G. B. De Rossi of Milan, who succeeded Cesati at the Roman mint and engraved numerous pieces for Paul IV, Pius V, and Gregory XIII. For Paul IV, he signed the piece with Calvary and that with *HAERESI RESTITUTA* for the establishment of the tribunal of the Inquisition; other specimens of the same pope (*DOMUS MEA DOMUS ORATIONIS* and *BEATI QUI CUSTODIUNT VIAS MEAS*) are by the Parmense.
The numerous medals of Pius IV are signed, in addition to De Rossi and the Parmense, by the new artists Marco Argo, a pupil of Cesati, and Simone Pallante. The latter executed the specimen *PIETATI PONTIFICIE* of classical inspiration; Marco Argo produced the pieces *TUI SECTATOR*, with a bishop on horseback lashing a fleeing enemy, a transparent allusion to Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, legate in France to combat the Huguenots; and the piece with the Pope leaving the city with his court through the Porta Flaminia. Notable among those by the Parmense are the pieces *TUI AUTEM IDEM IPSE ES* and *E VIRGO TUA GLORIA PARTUS*.
A rich group of pieces by Federico Parmense, a few specimens by G. A. Rossi, together with some anonymous ones, constitute the group for Pius V, among which notable by the Parmense is *DEXTERA TUA DOMINE PERCUSSIT INIMICUM*, recalling the Battle of Lepanto.
The numerous medals of Gregory XIII, in addition to those by the aforementioned artists, were signed by Domenico Poggini, G. Melone, L. Fragni, Niccolò De Bonis, Lodovico Leoni, Domenico Argentario, and Bernardino Passeri (and also by an F. C. and an R. C. not further identified). Argentario and Passeri worked together in 1582 on the five large medals executed for the tenth year of the reign, intended to be placed in the foundations of the Jesuit College. The finest pieces by the Parmense are *UGONOTTORUM STRAGES* and *IN FLUCTIBUS EMERGENS — RESTAURAVIT*, with the bridge over the Tiber. By D. Poggini is *NOM(INE) JESU SURGE ET AMBULA*, with the healing of the paralytic. By L. Fragni Parmense are *SUPER HANC PETRAM*, with the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica according to Michelangelo’s design, and *VIATORUM SALUTI — PELIA*, with the bridge over the Paglia near Acquapendente; by Niccolò De Bonis is the medal commemorating the establishment of the German College, desired by Julius III and completed by Gregory XIII.
Numerous pieces in the name of Sixtus V were signed by the engravers listed above. By now, the series of papal medals had reached an area of 1.5 x 1.5 [units], with a medal of Julius III and completed by Gregory XIII.
The few medals of Urban VII, who reigned for only 12 days, are posthumous. Of Innocent IX, who reigned for two months, no coins exist, but a few medals are signed by Niccolò and Emilio De Bonis, who also worked on the dies for Gregory XIV. Anonymous are the pieces in memory of Leo XI, who reigned for only 27 days (1605).
The numerous pieces of Clement VIII are signed by the two De Bonis, Gaspare Cambio, Giorgio Rancetti, and Fr. Mochi. Those of Paul V are by Rancetti, il Moro, and Sanquiro; and those of Urban VIII and Innocent X by il Moroni, il Mola, Korman of Augsburg, and others of lesser note.
The medals of Alexander VII, with few exceptions, are signed by il Moroni and present, in greater number, architectural types and works of art of the period, depicted in perspective renderings of great effect. Those of Clement IX and Clement X are by the Hamerani, Lucenti, and Travani families; to Innocent X is added Guglielmada, and to Alexander VIII, G. Ortolani and Ferdinando di S. Urbano; with Innocent XII and then Clement XI, the Hamerani family continues, along with Paolo Borner and A. Pilia; Ermenegildo Hamerani signs the obverse of the piece of Clement XI *FACUS EST PRINCIPATUS SUPER HUMERUM EIUS*, with Christ fallen under the weight of the Cross, and also the fine three-quarter left-profile portrait of the Pope himself. From the time of Benedict XIII to the end of the century, the medals are signed by the Hamerani, Crapanese, and from Pius VII onward, the signatures include Mercandetti, Brandt, Pasinati, Passamonti, Cerbara, Caputi, Girometti; finally, for Pius IX, those of Cerbara, Girometti, and also the two Bianchi.
The number of papal medals produced from the beginning of the 16th century (Julius II) onward is enormous but impossible to determine precisely; the sources are incomplete and insufficient. Bonanni described a good number, but stopped at Innocent XIV (1700); Mazio limited himself to describing the dies collected and existing in his time at the Roman mint (and everyone knows how and when such a collection was made), including the Paladian dies present there; Martinori triples the number, but inserts, in addition to Paladian inventions, a good number of hybrid, spurious, or rejected pieces, repetitions, and finally numerous devotional medals of no official character. The question of the number remains unresolved and can only be approximated at several thousand pieces.
**PAPA — Medal of Sixtus V, reverse showing the two colossi of the Quirinal. By E. De Bonis — Vatican Medagliere.**
The primary and greatest interest of this series lies in its iconographic value: it is a complete gallery of portraits of all the popes who reigned for more than four and a half centuries. The engravers devoted the greatest care to these portraits, and beneath each one, artists of all ages affixed their signatures. The iconographic value is all the greater because, on papal coins, the portrait—first introduced under Julius II—appeared exclusively on the major gold and silver denominations, issues that became rare and even exceedingly rare under Innocent XI due to the scarcity of pieces. Moreover, some popes never placed their portrait on the coinage, such as Paul IV, Gregory XV, Alexander VII, Clement IX, Benedict XIII, and Clement XIV. Only under Leo XII did the portrait reappear more frequently, and Pius IX adorned the majority of his numerous issues with II.
In the second place, one must consider the typological interest, which makes this series a precious historical-religious documentation, particularly in the representations on the reverse.
The typological development, like the artistic execution of the medal, parallels and is analogous to that of the coins, but the larger diameter of the medal allows for a more extensive development of the types. These types are never repeated identically in both series; rather, they appear on medals as variants of a similar theme proposed to the artist by the same authority, illustrating the same concepts and events. Only a few groups will be examined here, which will allow for some noteworthy observations regarding the working methods in the Roman mint: namely, the systematic repetition of the same types, often even with identical dies, without prejudice to the so-called right of authorship. It should also be noted that the artist-engraver’s signature never appears on the reverse; the types are religious and feature sacred and profane personifications.
The type of Christ handing the keys to St. Peter (*CLAVES REGNI CŒLORUM*) appears first under Julius III, recurs under Marcellus II, and continues until Gregory XIII; it is a recurring monetary type in the 15th and 16th centuries from Julius II onward (cf. *ACCIPE CLAVES REGNI CŒLORUM*). One of the last editions is that of Clement X: *TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM ÆDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM*, with a depiction in the emphatic style of the period. Christ driving the merchants from the Temple (*DOMUS MEA DOMUS ORATIONIS*) appears in the same period under Paul IV and persists until Sixtus V.
The nimbed bust of Christ (*BEATI QUI CUSTODIUNT VIAS MEAS*) appears under Paul III and recurs with his successors at least until Gregory XV. It is always the same severe, hieratic type, with long hair falling over the shoulders, which reappears under Alexander VII. It parallels a similar monetary type from Julius III to Sixtus V at least. Notable is the half-length frontal figure of the Eternal Father, holding a cruciferous globe, from the specimen of Julius XII, with the legend *EGO SUM VIA VERITAS ET VITA*, more fitting for the well-known medals with the Savior’s effigy, attributed to De Rossi and Leone Leoni (cf. also similar pieces with *EGO SUM LUX MUNDI*). Another edition of the bust, rendered more youthful and beautified, appears under Urban VIII (1623–1644): *DOMINE QUIS SIMILIS TIBI*.
Christ washing the feet of the Apostle (*TU DOMINUS ET MAGISTER – EXEMPLUM DEDI VOBIS*) is found from Leo X, once or more per pope, up to and including Pius IX, who presents numerous examples. Under Alexander VII, the aforementioned formula is replaced by *FORMA SERVI ACCIPIENS*; later, the old wording returns, which under Gregory XVI changes to *EGO DOMINUS ET MAGISTER*. The type also undergoes variations from Alexander VII onward, as it no longer involves just one disciple but five, six, or even ten, giving movement to the scene that previously unfolded tranquilly between Christ and a single attendant.
The type of Christ preaching to the multitudes (*NE DETRUDAT VOS CONTINGAT*) seems to have been introduced by Paul IV and lasts throughout the 16th century. Christ disputing in the Temple with the Doctors (*TU AUTEM IDEM IPSE ES*) is characteristic of Paul III and Pius IV; it should be considered a variant of the testons of Paul III.
The type of the Apostles in the storm-tossed ship, appealing to the sleeping Jesus for help (*SALVA NOS DOMINE*), appears under Clement VIII and Urban VIII, from the same die. A variant of this type—Jesus seated at the stern of the ship while the Apostles beg Him to calm the agitated waters (*IMPERA D(OMI)NE ET FAC TRANQUILLITATEM*)—appears under Pius V and recurs under Paul V. St. Peter half-submerged in the stormy sea, saved by Jesus walking on the water (*SALVA NOS DOMINE*), a magnificent die of Innocent XI, derives from the far more complex type of the three gold multiples of Paul II, Sixtus IV, and Alexander VI, and from the silver of Clement VII: *QUARE DUBITASTI*.
A variant in the legend on the pieces of Gregory XIII, imitating the aforementioned type of Pius V, reads *DOMINE ADIVU NOS*. The miraculous draught of fishes (*IN FLUCTIBUS EMERGENS*) recurs from Paul IV throughout the 16th century, and the pieces derive from a single die.
The type of St. Peter drawing the net (*IN VERBO TUO*) is found under Clement VIII and Urban VIII, a variant of the monetary type of the ducat from Sixtus IV onward. *GREGEM NE DESERAS*, a shepherd invoking heavenly salvation for his flock, is a die of Gregory IV, repeated by Clement VIII. Jesus fallen under the weight of the Cross (*FACIATUS EST PRINCIPATUS SUPER NUMERUM EIUS*) appears under Clement XI and is repeated, from the same die, by Clement XIV and Pius VI.
The depiction of the Mother of God recurs in several variants of the monetary type and is often repeated from the same dies: *VIRGO TUA GLORIA PARTUS*, from Julius II to Gregory XIII; *CAUSA NOSTRAE LÆTITIÆ* of Gregory XV; *VIRGO POTENS ORA PRO NOBIS* of Clement XI and *SUB TUUM PRÆSIDIUM* of Innocent XII (1699), two variants derived from the painting by Maratta. More complex compositions include that of Alexander VIII (*VICTRICEM MANUM TUAM LAUDEMUS*) for the Venetian victory over the Turks in 1690 and *AUXILIUM CHRISTIANORUM* with the Madonna of the Rosary by Clement XI. Finally, the two types of the Immaculate Coronation by Clement X: *CUM ME LAUDARENT SIMUL ASTRA MATUTINA*, from the teston of the same pope.
The reverse *DEXTERA DOMINI FACIT VIRTUTEM* (1591), with the pope delivering a banner for war, appears identically and from a single die for Sixtus V, Urban VII, Gregory XIV, and Innocent IX. It is thought to allude to the expedition of the pope’s nephew against the Huguenots in France; if so, this is a clear example of hybrid pieces, though present in all collections.
For the Jubilee Years from 1500 onward, numerous medals were struck depicting the Holy Door opened and closed, as well as the various associated ceremonies; all types recur with few variations in each period and for all ceremonies, as in the coinage.
The same applies to sacred and profane allegorical personifications, the latter of distinctly classical inspiration, preceding the former: the *Annunciata pontificia* of Paul III, which recurs throughout the 16th century and often from the same dies; *Roma resurgens* of Paul IV; the *Pax* of Pius IV; the *Hilarietas pontificia*, a type of the Paladino for Paul II and immediate successors, which recurs under Sixtus V; *Securitas* from Paul III onward; and the *Liberalitas* of Leo X and Clement XIII, which are two analogous types.
From 1600 onward, there appear those personifications of religious concepts that are familiar from the monumental statuary art of the period: *Religio*, *Fides*, and *Ecclesia*; *Caritas*, *Iustitia*, *Clementia*, *Providentia*, *Fortitudo*, etc. Within this category, a closer examination can reveal the identity of dies used for various popes; it suffices to recall that the group *IUSTITIA ET CLEMENTIA COMPLEXAE SUNT* of Urban VII and Innocent X derive from the same die.
How many hybrid and posthumous attributions may and should be recognized in this extensive papal series, and for each period, can never be definitively stated or even verified; the pieces have gained a right to existence because they are present in all collections, manuals, and catalogues. It suffices to consider the phenomenon of the Paladino, whose production, only recently recognized as posthumous, is found everywhere, and for which an attempt has been made up to the present day to justify it under the name of "restitutions."