ROMANO, POPE. – Born at Gallese, near Civita Castellana, he was appointed cardinal of S. Pietro in Vincoli by Pope Stefano VI. He succeeded him in the pontificate and governed the Church from Aug. to Oct. or Nov. 897, when he died, during the sorrowful events provoked by the excesses of the Spoleto party’s domination over Rome (v. FORMOSO, PAPA). During his brief government he bestowed the pallium on Vitale, patriarch of Grado, and confirmed the bishops of Elna and Gerona.
BIBL.: Lib. Pont., II, p. 230; Flodardo, De Christi triumphis, XII, 6; PL 135, 830; Jaffé-Wattenbach, I, p. 441; Mansi, XVIII, coll. 186–88; L. Duchesne, Les premiers temps de l'Etat Pontif., Paris 1911, p. 300 ff.; Fliche-Martin-Frutz, VII, no. 16. Carlo Callovini