URBAN III, POPE. - Uberto Crivelli, already archbishop of Milan, was elected pope in Verona on 25 November 1185 and consecrated on 1 September; but his pontificate was short, for he died on 20 October 1187.
Political events prevented him from setting foot in Rome; the dispute with Emperor Frederick Barbarossa over the territories of the Roman Church, which he unjustly claimed, grew more acute. To the harsh complaints of the Supreme Pontiff were added veiled threats. In retaliation, Frederick resorted to clumsy measures: he forbade anyone to leave Verona, where the papal court was staying, and if any curial left the city walls to enrich himself, he was seized by imperial agents and subjected to cruel torture.
URBAN III intended to launch an excommunication against his persecutor; but the Veronese, fearing Frederick’s wrath, induced him to leave the city. He then decided to flee to more hospitable lands and reach Venice, where he would have found every security against imperial intrigues; but he did not get beyond Ferrara, where his funerary monument still exists. During his pontificate, the centralization of the Church was notably accentuated;
URBAN I, POPE, SAINT - Greek inscription of URBAN (3rd century). Rome, cemetery of St. Callistus.