POLE, REGINALD. - Born at Stourton Castle (Staffordshire) in March 1500 to Sir Richard (d. 1505), whose mother was a half-sister of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and to Margaret Plantagenet, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence. In 1513 Henry VIII created his mother Countess of Salisbury (later entrusting to her the education of Princess Mary) and his eldest son, Henry, Baron Montague; Reginald, destined for the Church, was favored with studies at Oxford (under W. Latimer), granted prebends and means to study in Italy from 1521 onwards.
At Padua, Pole befriended scholars and humanists, including Bembo and Cristoforo di Longueil (Longolius); by 1525 he had entered into correspondence with Erasmus and, through him, with Jan Łaski. He also visited Rome and returned to England in 1527. The royal divorce posed a dilemma for him; he obtained permission to go to Paris, where he nevertheless agreed to gather (with the support of Sir Richard Fox) opinions favorable to Henry’s desires, which Francis I also supported. Meanwhile, he had been elected Dean of Exeter; upon his return to England at Sheen, the see of York, vacant due to Wolsey’s death, was offered to him on condition that he comply. After a dramatic interview with the King and faced with the now evident schism, he preferred to depart again. In Padua and Venice, he reunited with old friends and made new ones: I. Sadoleto, G. Contarini, G. Cortese, M. A. Flaminio, G. M. Giberti, Alvise Priuli, L. Beccadelli (later his biographer), and G. P. Carafa himself.
Both parties pressed him to take a stand on the religious situation in England; he preferred to act independently and, perhaps hoping still to regain the King’s favor, sent him the manuscript of his treatise *Pro ecclesiasticae unitatis defensione*, completed in May 1536. Shortly afterward, summoned to Rome, he was created Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria in Cosmedin on December 22, alongside Carafa, Del Monte, Sadoleto, and others, and appointed to the commission that drafted the famous *Consilium de emendanda Ecclesia* (1538). Paul III showed him further favor and trust: as legate for England, he traveled to Flanders (though the hoped-for rebellion had been crushed at its outset by Henry); he accompanied the Pope to the conference at Nice with Charles V and Francis I and undertook another mission to Spain. Meanwhile, Henry had his brothers, Geoffrey (later pardoned) and Henry (beheaded on November 4, 1538), as well as his mother Margaret (q.v.), arrested, and dispatched assassins after him, forcing Pole to take refuge in Carpentras; he nevertheless returned to Rome in 1540 and, appointed legate of the Patrimony of St. Peter, settled in Viterbo, where he gathered around him and Vittoria Colonna the circle of “spirituals,” who hoped for reconciliation with the Lutherans (and through Pole, Contarini sought counsel in view of the Diet of Regensburg), going so far as to embrace the doctrine of “double justification,” later rejected by the Council of Trent.
Before the Council convened, Pole had been designated papal legate in 1542; in that capacity he participated in its proceedings from December 1545 to June 1546, when failing health compelled him to retire to Friuli and then back to Rome.
He enjoyed great prestige, so much so that in the 1549 conclave he missed election by a single vote, though he made no effort to secure II. The accession of Mary offered him the chance to restore Catholicism in England. Yet his return as papal legate was obstructed by Charles V, who feared his opposition to Mary’s marriage to Philip II until November 1554. Ordained priest and consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on March 22, 1556, he became the Queen’s principal advisor. English historians observe that, though inept or unlucky in diplomatic missions, Pole displayed little statesmanship in failing to accommodate the interests of the ecclesiastical estates—through which the powerful middle class had enriched itself—nor did he curb the severity of repression, which bred resentment. His reforming efforts, including the establishment of seminaries, remain noteworthy.
In Rome, however, he had become suspect: rumors circulated for some time about his political conduct, and graver still, about his excessive leniency toward Protestants. Moreover, the conflict between Philip II and Paul IV, involving England, placed him in a precarious position. Deprived of his legateship, he was accused before the Inquisition, together with Cardinal Morone; while preparing his written defense, he fell ill and died on November 17, 1558.
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POPE I, Luigi, “Architect, b. Modena, October 28, 1792, d. Milan, August 2, 1869. In his youth he studied at Bologna’s Accademia Clementina; from 1818 he settled in Rome under Raffaello Stern during the latter’s work on the new wing of the Vatican Museums.
Rising in esteem within the competent offices of the Apostolic Camera, in 1833 Pole was entrusted with continuing the reconstruction of the basilica of S. Paolo, begun by Pasquale Belli. This remained his major work, which he pursued until his death, introducing some modifications to the original designs and erecting beside the apse a singular lighthouse-shaped bell tower. In 1833 he also worked on the restoration of the Lateran Palace and then designed and built the two classically styled facades at the ends of the Borghi, facing Castel S. Angelo, which were demolished in later redevelopments of the area. Though an academician of S. Luca and the Virtuosi al Pantheon, and regarded as the leading exponent of Roman architectural purism (q.v.), he was commissioned to direct various works in the basilica of S. Maria degli Angeli in Assisi and erected in Rome (1834–38) the column dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Piazza di Spagna. Outside Rome he built the theaters of Fano (1845–63), Terni (1849), and Rimini (1857)—the latter, especially its interior, sadly devastated in the Second World War, yet grand and imposing. Other constructions include the Scottish College on Via Quattro Fontane in Rome, the church of S. Filippo in Nocera Umbra, and the rebuilt basilica of S. Venanzio in Camerino, in which he employed forms borrowed from Burgundian Gothic.
A typical exponent of architectural purism in his use of Vignolesque syntactic forms to express novel ideas, as he advanced in years Pole inclined toward a certain
Raised in esteem by the competent offices of the Apostolic Camera, in 1833 the priest was entrusted with continuing the reconstruction of the basilica of St Paul already begun by Pasquale Belli. And this, which remained his major work, which he continued until his death, he carried out by making some modifications to the original designs and erecting beside the apse a strange lighthouse-shaped bell tower. In 1833 the priest was also working on the restoration of the Lateran Palace and thus designed and built the two classical-style façades at the ends of the Borghi, towards Castel Sant’Angelo, which were demolished in the modern redevelopment of the area. Although an academician of St Luke and of the Virtuosi al Pantheon, considered the leading exponent of Roman architectural purism (v.), the priest was entrusted with directing various works in the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi and erected in Rome (1834–38) the column dedicated to the Immaculate Conception that stands in Piazza di Spagna. Outside Rome, meanwhile, he built the theatres of Fano (1845–63), of Terni (1849) and of Rimini (1857). This last construction, especially inside, unfortunately very badly damaged in the Second World War, is undoubtedly solemn and grand. Other works by him include the Scottish College in Via Quattro Fontane in Rome, the church of San Filippo in Nocera Umbra and the rebuilt basilica of San Venanzio in Camerino. In this last building he employed forms imitated from Burgundian Gothic.
A typical exponent of architectural purism in his use of Vignolesque syntactic forms to express new concepts, as the years advanced the priest inclined towards a certain