CHAPTER X.

The Papal States.—The Re-acquisition of Ferrara.—Death of the Pope.

The many anxieties which the Turkish peril and the religious conditions of all the countries of Europe caused Clement VIII. were yet further added to by the conditions in the States of the Church. These were administered by the cardinalitial Congregation of the Consulta, although the Pope also took a direct part in their affairs. Carrying out a project of Sixtus V, Clement VIII, by a bull of October 30th, 1592, set up a special Congregation for the Administration of the States of the Church, composed of three Cardinals. His ordinance for the visitation of each of the provinces, so as to suppress the abuses in the administration of the communes, may also be traced back to Sixtus V.

Like the rest of Italy, the territories of the Holy See had since 1590 repeatedly suffered from bad or quite insufficient harvests. The scarcity of bread brought in its train a crushing increase in the cost of all other necessities. Even though this calamity was not so great in the Papal States, and above all in Rome, as in the other cities of the peninsula, it was nevertheless felt there all the more severely in that much better conditions had prevailed there before.

All the reports agree in saying that Clement VIII did all he could in the first years of his pontificate to overcome this scarcity, especially in Rome. The superintendence of the trade in food left nothing to be desired, but the scarcity was universal, bad methods of provisioning were deep-rooted, while very often the officials were untrustworthy and unbusinesslike. The Pope was unable, as Paruta points out, to keep in touch with all the details,1 but he sought in this respect to do all he could, and even, in April, 1593, had a report made to him by his nephew whether the city was sufficiently supplied with bread. He laboured indefatigably to secure the importation of grain from outside, although he met with great difficulties in this, as some of the provinces, as for example the fertile Romagna, were suffering from bad harvests.

That the scarcity was general is shown by the fact that even the city of Bologna, which on account of its richness was named la grassa, was, from 1590 to 1592, the victim of serious scarcity, and the number of the inhabitants fell from 90,000 to 70,000. Clement VIII. lent the city 80,000 scudi. The legation of Bologna, from October 16th, 1592, onwards, was in the hands of Cardinal Montalto. This office brought him a fixed revenue of 6000 scudi, but he resided in Rome. The vice-legate or governor acted as his representative. The latter had but little influence in the administration because the city was very independent.1 In an instruction of the year 1595 it is stated that the Bolognesi must be inspired with respect, and at the same time with loyalty; the first will be attained if the representative of the Papal authority devotes himself seriously to the administration of justice and the importation of food; devotion will best be inspired by impartiality and the protection of good citizens.

In the Marches and the Romagna as well there had been a decrease in the population in consequence of the epidemics of 1590. A crushing state of misery was on the increase among the survivors, because the officials exacted the taxes with the utmost rigour. In these provinces, which in the past had seemed to be veritable granaries, there was now an alarming decrease in production. In Umbria too there was a scarcity of food, so that there as well as in the Marches special ordinances had to be issued in order to meet the emergency.

The scarcity in Rome continued even in those years when the harvest was good. The Pope was rightly incensed that when the situation had improved, the people did not reap the advantage. The fault was partly due to the officials of the Camera, and partly to the speculators, whose greed it was sought to curb by special legislation.

The Pope’s intentions were always good, as is pointed out in a report from Rome of October 3rd, 1594 : if in spite of this he met with but little success, the reason was to be found in the extraordinary state of affairs prevailing in the Papal States. The independence of the barons and of the communes created such an opposition to the central government that not even so energetic a Pope as Sixtus V. had been able to subdue it except for a short time. The conditions in the Roman Campagna, from which very little grain reached the Eternal City, were especially unfortunate for Rome. Agriculture there had not entirely disappeared, but the greed for gain on the part of the farmers, together with a type of cultivation that was without a permanent body of tenants, caused the arable land to pass more and more to pasturage. Clement VIII, like his predecessors, sought to provide for the provisioning of Rome by strict vigilance, and by a rigorous prohibition of exportation. A constitution of September 13th, 1597, forbade exportation of any kind, without special permission from the Camera or the Annonaria; it also forbade the hoarding of grain in private stores, and preventing its free passage to Rome. In this document the Pope bitterly censures the tricks of the speculators who, with abominable usury, forced up the price of grain. He threatened the barons and other landlords who hoarded grain, and forbade them to keep more than a sufficient quantity for their own domestic use for a year.

The Pope showed himself the sworn enemy of speculators in grain in his constitution of December 4th, 1604, which confirmed the celebrated bull of Sixtus IV of March 1st, 1476, and the similar ordinances of Julius II, Clement VII and Pius V. for the development of agriculture in the Campagna. In this constitution he allowed the free exportation of a quarter of the harvest, provided that the price of grain in the Roman market was not more than 60 giulii a rubbio ; he allowed the vassals of the barons to cultivate other land than that belonging to their feudal lords, and also decided that priests might devote themselves to agriculture without its being considered a profane trade. He also made provision to supply the lack of tillage oxen. The subsidy for carrying on the work of draining the Pontine Marshes was also aimed at increasing the cultivation of grain.[

Measures of this kind could only effect an improvement in course of time, so that in the meanwhile the conditions remained as little satisfactory as before. The opposition which the well intentioned zeal of the Pope had to cope with proved too strong. How difficult the task was has been shown by the fact that in modern times not even the state of United Italy, armed with far greater powers and means, has been able to overcome the opposition of the farmers to the cultivation of the Campagna, or meet with any better success in carrying on the efforts of the Popes.

The discontent of the people at these economic disadvantages found vent towards the end of the pontificate of Clement VIII in biting pasquinades. The authors of such libels overlooked the fact that it was not the government alone that was to blame; nor did they bear in mind that the imposts in the Papal States were on the whole very moderate, compared, not only with those parts of Italy which were subject to Spanish rule, but also with the majority of the small independent states. Clement VIII fought as much as he could against any increase in the burden of taxes, and it was absolutely against his will if the subordinate officials in the Marches and the Romagna confiscated the  agricultural implements and cattle of the peasants who could not pay. As a result of such tyranny some emigrated, while others gave themselves over to brigandage. The crimes of such delinquents embittered for Clement VIII the first lustrum of his pontificate.

Brigandage had already raised its head once more at the end of the reign of Sixtus V. During the pontificates of Urban VII, Gregory XIV and Innocent IX, which had followed each other at short intervals, this plague had been able to continue and spread. Clement VIII, who in Rome was the rigorous champion of peace and order, determined that it must be faced energetically. As early as February, 1592, he sent troops under the supreme command of Flaminio Delfino to the Marches, where Marco Sciarra, one of the most terrible brigand chiefs, was carrying on his crimes. In March bands of brigands pillaged the nearer and more distant environs of Rome, and in April they burned the castle of Subiaco. Terrible stories were told of the cruelty of these hordes,1 and the Pope, who was deeply distressed, insisted upon energetic intervention. He sent against them his nephew Aldobrandini with about 2000 men, and had previously enrolled 600 Corsican soldiers in his service, who, however, pillaged almost more than the bandits.

Marco Sciarra had entrenched himself with 500 bandits in a convent near Ascoli, but as soon as Papal troops under the command of Flaminio Delfino were sent to the rescue, he succeeded, through the intervention of Count Pietro Gabuzio, who was enlisting soldiers for the Venetian Republic against the rapacious Uscocchi, in getting himself taken, together with the flower of his band, into the service of the republic. Clement VIII asked for the ruffians to be handed over, but in vain. In this refusal he saw a contempt for his authority, and was all the more offended at the action of the Republic in that Gabuzio had been born a Papal subject, and that the Venetians had already on other occasions permitted themselves innumerable usurpations of ecclesiastical authority. In order to pacify the Pope, in June, 1592, there was once more sent to Rome Leonardo Donato, who had just returned from the embassy which had been sent to congratulate the new head of the Church. We learn from the account of his journey that organized bands of assassins were rendering the country round Spoleto, Terni and Ostia insecure. The diplomatic skill of Donato was unable at the time to allay the Pope’s displeasure, and the incident was only closed when, on April 3rd, 1593, Marco Sciarra was killed, and his companions sent to Candia, where some died of the plague, and the others were dispersed. Gian Francesco Aldobrandini then moved against the remainder of the bandits, who had taken refuge in the mountains near Ascoli.

It was only then that a certain degree of peace was restored in the States of the Church, but it is impossible to speak of a disappearance of the bandits. Just as during the spring of 1593 they appeared in the Romagna and the Abruzzi, so did they in the neighbourhood of Rome in July, and in October near Viterbo. In the summer of 1594 they again appeared in large numbers, especially near Velletri. The Venetian ambassador, Poalo Paruta, wrote in 1595 that no one was safe from the bandits. According to trustworthy information the number of outlaws inscribed in the public lists was 15,000 which meant a considerable diminution in the population of the state. The rigour of justice, Paruta continues, is very great, and accomplices and abettors are being put to death. Those days are rare when there are not to be seen at the Bridge of St. Angelo the bodies and heads of those who have been executed, sometimes, four, six, ten, twenty, or even thirty. The number of those executed, from the time of Sixtus V until now, is estimated at about 5000. But this extreme severity has been of no use, and has rather made things worse. If one is captured, others immediately take to the woods, because they recognize their accomplices. The mountainous districts on the Neapolitan frontier were especially affected, and the opinion was commonly held in Rome, as Paruta reports on July 29th, 1595, that the Spanish government was encouraging this disorder so as to bring pressure to bear on the Pope.

An improvement in the situation depended above all upon a change in this state of affairs, and on the fulfilment of the duties of neighbourliness, a thing which applied also to the Florentine government. This was brought about later on, but by no means completely.

The principal reason why it was not possible to come to grips with this terrible scourge, besides the equivocal behaviour of the Pope’s neighbours, lay in the military weakness of the Papal States. There the army had always been neglected. The only exception had been that warlike Pope, Julius II. This was the natural consequence of the office and position of the head of the Church, while Clement VIII lacked all knowledge of or inclination for military matters. In the whole of the States of the Church there was not a single fortress of importance, and only the citadels of Civitavecchia and Ancona were to a certain extent sufficiently armed. At Perugia there was a small garrison, and at Bologna a hundred Swiss and fifty cavalry. Places which, by their natural position, were well suited for fortresses, such as Orvieto, Ci vita Castellana and Spoleto, were so neglected that the Venetian ambassador could never sufficiently express his surprise. Not even Rome could be said to be adequately defended; the fortifications had never been completed, and even the Castle of St. Angelo, the one safe refuge in case of danger, had not got the necessary armament. When in the autumn of 1592 the Huguenot Lesdiguieres crossed the Alps to avenge himself on the Duke of Savoy with 4000 men, Rome trembled. Later on, after the reconciliation with Henry IV, it was felt that the Spaniards were even more to be feared, since the bandits were most numerous in the mountains on the Neapolitan frontier.

The States of the Church were entirely without a paid and organized army. The soldiery on paper consisted of 30,000 men; each province had a colonel, and under him captains and lower officers. But as only the colonels had a fixed pay, it is easy to imagine the condition of the troops. A paid army was only called into existence from time to time, when it was a case of facing the bandits or fighting the Turks; in 1595 the whole of the cavalry of the Papal States was employed for this purpose, so that there only remained the Swiss Guard, 200 strong, and 1000 Corsican soldiers, afterwards reduced to 800. But these were only intended to fight against the bandits, so that it was impossible to speak of any real armed force. Even the captains of any experience were only enlisted for a period, according to necessity. The office of General of the Church, which was well paid, and held by Gian Francesco Aldobrandini, had become a mere post of honour. The fleet, too, of which Pius V and later on Sixtus V had taken such care, was in a state of decadence. Except the arsenal at Civitavecchia, there was no other in the Papal states. From a false economy Clement VIII would gladly have suspended the payments for the six galleys, which had remained in that harbour since the time of Sixtus V., and it was only the necessity of protecting the coasts against the Turkish pirates which determined him to maintain them.

Although the States of the Church were spared the regular cost of paid troops, such as burdened the finances of other states, the Papal finances were nevertheless in a deplorable condition, because of the enormous burden of debt, of twelve million scudi, which Clement VIII found at the beginning of his pontificate. Of the total annual revenue, amounting to about a million and a half, more than a million scudi, that is two-thirds of the income, went to pay the interest on the debts in the offices and “luoghi di Monte.” With a net income of half a million, the expenses had to be met, which were estimated at 400,000 scudi, so that there remained over only a very small sum. In these circumstances the very greatest economy was necessary, but this was absolutely wanting. Clement VIII was one of those men who have no idea of the value of money, and the expenses of the administration of the palace, the pageants, the building works and the endowment of his nephews, devoured great sums of money. To these were added the exorbitant and manifold demands of the Christian princes.

Clement VIII was not the man to provide the money for such extraordinary necessities. It was proposed to meet the difficulty by encroaching upon the treasure deposited in the Castle of St. Angelo by Sixtus V, which still amounted to two and a half millions, but the Pope was adverse to any such step. In order to comply with the enormous demands, which were especially in connexion with the support of the war against the Turks, there remained no other course, besides the imposition of tenths upon the Italian clergy, than that taken by previous Popes, namely the raising of new state loans upon the revenues, or the so-called “luoghi di Monte.” Clement VIII found himself compelled, in order to meet the extraordinary needs, caused especially by the war against the Turks, to undertake, in seven new “luoghi di Monte ” a debt to the amount of 2,893,200 scudi. From an estimate of the  year 1598 it would appear that the interest on the debt then amounted to three-quarters of the total revenue. The net revenue, towards the end of the pontificate, fell from 500,000 scudi to 343,473. As the annual expenditure was 450,126 scudi, there was an annual deficit of 106,653 scudi.

The expenditure of the Pope, besides the war against the Turks, had been increased in a special degree in 1598 by the acquisition of Ferrara, and by the visit paid to this new territory of the States of the Church, for which, however, 150,000 scudi were taken from the treasure in the Castle of St. Angelo.

The Venetian ambassador, Paolo Paruta, in giving his opinion in 1595 as to the strength and weakness of the States of the Church, says that they were not preserved either by a good constitution, or by the conditions which usually confer permanence and security on other states, but rather by the fact that no one wished or dared to do anything to their injury. “Above all” Paruta explains, “this is helped by the majesty of the person of the Pope, and by respect for religion: motives which have saved this State when in great danger. There is another circumstance which contributes, namely that there are many petty princes in Italy, who, since they cannot aggrandize themselves, are desirous that the neighbouring states should as far as possible maintain a balance between each other. And since to be a protector of the Church confers a certain dignity, each one refrains from attacking the Papal State, fearing to find all the others against him. If, however, any great change should take place in Italy, then the States of the Church, with all their elements of disorder, would run no little danger. May it not be that any advance made by the French in Savoy and Piedmont has had its echo in Rome, and aroused and encouraged thoughts of rebellion, which might be of even greater importance to the Holy See than to the other states ?

In his report, Paruta also mentions the question of the succession to the fiefs of Urbino and Ferrara, which was imminent owing to the likelihood of the extinction of the two reigning families. “Urbino” Paruta thought, “will certainly once again come under the direct government of the Church, but in the case of Ferrara this will be very difficult, and certainly will not be done without a great struggle.” In spite of this, to the amazement of everybody, this question was solved by the skill and energy of the Aldobrandini Pope with a “surprising facility.”

After the election of Clement VIII, all hopes entertained by Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara of obtaining from the new Pope, whose father had once been cordially welcomed at the court of the Este, what he had once tried to obtain from Gregory XIV, were bound to vanish : this was to obtain for his cousin Cesare the fief of Ferrara, but even while he was still a Cardinal, Clement VIII had come to the conclusion that such a step was illegal. Immediately at the beginning of his pontificate he confirmed the bull of Pius V., which excluded illegitimate branches from succession to Papal fiefs. The cardinalitial congregation which was appointed for further deliberation, was for the most part opposed to the declaration of Gregory XIV., which had still left Alfonso with some hopes.

In spite of this Alfonso and Cesare, who made the obedientia to the Pope in the duke's name on May 18th, 1592, hoped to attain their end all the more easily as the Emperor Rudolph II., who was in need of money for the Turkish war, granted in return for a repayment of 300,000 scudi, a renewal of the fiefs of Modena and Reggio, and the right of the duke to nominate his successor within a certain period (August 8th, 1594). While Alfonso’s envoy was employing every means in his power in Rome to induce the Pope to change his mind, on July 17th, 1595, the old duke wrote his will, appointing Cesare d’Este as his successor. But this information was conveyed to Rudolph II. so secretly that not even Cesare knew of the honour that had been done him. It is evident that Alfonso did not wish the court to turn to the star that was rising on the horizon, and it was only in October, 1597, when the duke fell mortally ill, that Cesare was informed that he was the heir. The dying man said that he was leaving him a most beautiful state, and one that was strong, both by its military power, ana by reason of the allies, both within and without Italy, upon whom he could count with certainty.

Duke Alfonso, down to the year 1597, had made use of every expedient to obtain from the Pope the investiture of Cesare, but Clement VIII, convinced in his conscience that he could not grant it, had remained immovable. In spite of this, after the death of the duke, which took place on October 27th, 1:597, Cesare assumed the government, not only of the Imperial fiefs of Modena and Reggio, but also, contrary to all right, of the fiefs of Ferrara and Comacchio. The Bishop of Ferrara, Giovanni Fontana, was forcibly compelled to take part in the homage of the city. Being resolved to defend his supposed right of inheritance against the Pope by force of arms, Cesare put Ferrara into a state of defence and enlisted troops. At the same time envoys were sent to the Emperor, the German princes, Henry IV, Philip II and the Italian states. As both Spain and the Italian powers, especially Venice and Florence, did not in any way wish for an aggrandizement of the Papal States, Cesare indulged in the most sanguine hopes. He thought that he could count with certainty upon his cousin, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and upon the powerful Republic of Venice, and he sent Count Girolamo Giglioli to Rome to inform the Pope that he had taken possession of Ferrara, which belonged to him by right.

When the news of the death of the last Duke of Ferrara reached Rome on November 1st, 1597, the Pope at once summoned a general congregation of the Cardinals for the following day, at which he informed them that the legitimate line being now extinct by the death of Duke Alfonso, Ferrara, as a vacant fief, reverted to the Holy See in accordance with the bull of Pius V, and that he now expressly reconfirmed this. With the exception of Sfondrato and Lancellotti, who wished for longer time for consideration, all the Cardinals were in agreement with the attitude adopted by the Pope, because the laws of feudal right were clearly in his favour. Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini especially defended this point of view. There can be no doubt that the determined and bold stand of the Pope was also influenced by the recollection of the partly uncertain and partly openly hostile attitude which the House of Este had repeatedly taken up against the Pope, its overlord.

In order to give force to his declaration Clement VIII immediately gave orders for large armaments. A congregation of nineteen Cardinals had been appointed to deal with the question of Ferrara, and this decided that a monitorium must be issued to Cesare, and that Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, who was chosen to take the supreme command of the troops, should go to Bologna for the fitting out of the force. The nephew set out on November 12th. On the same day the monitorium was affixed at the cathedral of Ferrara : this gave Cesare fifteen days in which to justify himself in Rome, and to present his pretended claims. As this was not done the canonical process was begun. The attempts of Cesare to turn aside the Pope from his lawful attitude by means of a letter and promises of a quit-rent, as well as of considerable advantages for his nephew Gian Francesco Aldobrandini, were of no avail. The Venetian ambassador in particular worked zealously on behalf of Cesare, while certain Cardinals, such as Valiero and Sfondrato, pointed out that in view of the Turkish peril a war in Italy must be avoided. It is said that Clement VIII hesitated for a moment in view of this great argument, but that Cinzio Aldobrandini removed all his scruples. Taking his stand strictly on the legal point of view, Clement VIII declared that as soon as Cesare had evacuated the Duchy of Ferrara his arguments could be taken into consideration, but that otherwise he would be excommunicated as an usurper. The armaments were pushed forward with unexpected energy, and at the same time prayers were ordered that God would lead Cesare to give way. But he, for his part, breathed threats and redoubled his warlike preparations, as though determined to push the matter to extremes. The Cardinals, however, were of a like opinion. If the Holy See renounced its manifest rights, and tolerated the usurpation of Cesare, the most fatal consequences to its dignity and to the existence of the States of the Church were inevitable. At an audience on December 20th Count Ercole Rondinelli, who had been sent by Cesare to Rome, once again advanced the claims of his sovereign, but annoyed the Pope greatly by speaking of the right of election by the people.

When the canonical process had been completed, the sentence was published on December 23rd. This stated that as Cesare obstinately adhered to his usurpation, he and his adherents incurred major excommunication, and that the countries which joined him, after the determined period had elapsed, were placed under an interdict.

Cesare could not conceal his alarm when he received news of the excommunication, but a ray of hope remained to him in the help of the Spaniards and Venetians. The Venetian government, though neutral, favoured his warlike preparations, and refused to furnish the Pope with arms and munitions from Brescia. It was only with great difficulty that Clement VIII. obtained these from Milan. The Spaniards undoubtedly would have liked to help Cesare, and to fish in’ the troubled waters. Cesare trusted to such an extent in Philip II, whose assistance had been asked by Alfonso II at the beginning of 1597, that he suggested the king as arbitrator, but he hesitated to accept the proposal of the governor of Milan, who offered him Spanish garrisons for his fortresses. Philip II, in his old age, feared the outbreak of war in Italy, and only expressed himself with great caution, in spite of the ill-will which he entertained towards Clement VIII on account of the absolution of Henry IV. Nor could Cesare look for help from Rudolph II, as the Emperor himself was dependent upon the help of the Pope in his war against the Turks.

While Cesare could only find lukewarm friends, Clement VIII found a supporter in the King of France, who openly and decidedly took his part. As he had done in the case of the Italian States and the Emperor, on November 6th, 1597, Clement VIII had sent a special envoy to Henry IV. on the matter of Ferrara. Even before the envoy reached France, Henry IV had made his decision. He realized, with the same clearness as his representative in Rome, d’Ossat, what a great advantage he could gain for France by adopting a correct attitude in this matter. Any war that broke out in Italy could riot fail to be useful to the King of France, without his mixing himself up in it, because it would involve the Spaniards, Florence and Savoy. If the Pope should then turn to the King of France for support, he would reap even greater advantages. In this way Henry could easily lead men to forget how, on many occasions, he had thought it his duty to act against the wishes of the Holy See. If he alone came to the assistance of the Pope, he would bind him and his successors to eternal gratitude.1 In the clear conviction that to support Clement VIII in the matter of Ferrara would be the best course to adopt, as he expressed himself to d’Ossat, in order to give new splendour to the fleur-de-lys in Rome, and permanently to assure to France its former position at the Curia, Henry IV forgot the former friendly relations of France with the Este, and ordered his ambassador in Rome, Piney, to offer the Pope the assistance of the kingdom of France. He was not only prepared to send an army across the Alps, but even in case of need to appear in person with the whole of his army and give his assistance.

This declaration made the greatest impression in Rome, and nothing else was spoken of. D’Ossat, overcome with joy, hoped that his sovereign would once again take up the position of Pepin and Charlemagne towards the Church. He reported that if the project was carried out, the enemies of France, and above all the Spaniards, would be eaten up with envy and jealousy; there could be no better opportunity than this to give the lie to the Spanish calumnies that after his absolution Henry would show himself the greatest enemy of the Church.

But Clement VIII, no matter how valuable the offer of assistance from France was, was unwilling, for the sake of universal peace, to have French troops appearing in Italy. In the case of his not being able to defend his rights by his own power, he would have preferred the assistance of the Swiss. He therefore breathed more freely when he saw that the mere offer of French assistance had been enough to deprive Cesare of all help. The Spaniards themselves showed them­selves more accommodating to the wishes of the Pope, when even in Venice, which at first had been opposed to the acquisition of Ferrara by the Holy See, and had forbidden Gian Francisco Aldobrandini to pass with his troops or the publication of the excommunication, a change had taken place.

At Ferrara the reaction showed itself in a way that no one could have dared to hope for. Not only was there a display of the discontent which had been aroused by the frequently oppressive government of Alfonso II., but Cesare himself began to hesitate. He had hardly assumed the reigns of government when he showed himself unfit to cope with the complicated situation, owing to the fact that the dead duke had deliberately excluded him from all share in the government. In consequence of this, he only had a superficial knowledge of many of the members of the supreme council, while to those he knew best he had, almost without exception, entrusted missions abroad. Undecided by nature, without the necessary money, and quite inexperienced in military matters, Cesare saw his adherents vanish, both among the upper and the lower classes. The people openly expressed the hope that under the milder government of the Church they would be less oppressed by taxes than heretofore. To all this had to be added the profound impression made by the Papal excommunication. Of the friendly governments in Italy, not one dreamed of giving any effective assistance. They restricted themselves to giving good advice, because none of the states wished to risk a serious conflict with the Holy See.

Cesare had taken all possible precautions that the bull of excommunication, which had been sent to all the bishops of Italy, should not be known at Ferrara. In spite of this the Archbishop of Bologna succeeded in finding a courageous man who successfully conveyed the document to Ferrara sewn in his clothes, who handed it to the bishop there. On the following day, December 31st, the obsequies of one of the canons took place; the church was draped in black and filled with a large crowd of the faithful. After the function the bishop mounted the pulpit. He spoke of death, but much worse than the death of the body, he suddenly said, is the destruction of the soul. By excommunication both are lost, and Cesare d’Este has incurred this penalty. He then had the Papal sentence read. The impression made was tremendous, and the fear of the interdict was so great that many of those present broke out into sobs, and among them the bishop.

The news of the excommunication and interdict at once spread through the city, and it was obvious that the majority of the citizens had no intention of running the risk of incurring material and spiritual destruction in order to adhere to Cesare. Count Francesco Villa was sent to the Pope as the envoy of the city. The inhabitants hastened to approach the sacraments in the fear lest, should their envoy accomplish nothing in Rome, they might be deprived for some time of this spiritual consolation.

Clement VIII, to the great surprise of everyone, had in a very short time raised a considerable army for those times, of more than 20,000 infantry and 3000 horsemen. This was already encamped near Faenza, under the supreme command of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini. The city of Ferrara, although it was well defended by its low position in marshy territory, was in need of the munitions of war, and even more of money. No power took any serious steps to help Cesare, while the attitude of Spain was such as to cause Cesare to fear the loss of the Imperial fiefs of Reggio and Modena. The consequences that this would entail for the Venetians were so dangerous that they preferred to see Ferrara occupied by the Pope.

Cesare was bound to realize that in these circumstances  it would be madness to attempt the fortunes of war, while his confessor, the Jesuit Bartolomeo Palmio, advised him not to push things to that point. In order to bring about an agreement with the Pope, Cesare had recourse to the sister of Alfonso II; the old Duchess Lucrezia of Urbino had always been his enemy, but she was on excellent terms with Cardinal Aldobrandini. Armed with full powers, Lucrezia went on December 31st to Faenza, and on January 12th, 1598, she there, in Cesare’s name, came to an agreement with the legate Aldobrandini. By this Cesare restored the Duchy of Ferrara to the Church, together with Cento and Pieve di Cento, and the fiefs in Romagna. He was accordingly absolved from the excommunication, together with his adherents. He retained the allodial estates, the archives, the art collections, the library, and half the artillery. Clement VIII was on a visit to Palo on the sea when he received the news of the agreement come to at Faenza, and his joy was as great as it was justified. Without his army having fired a single shot, or lost a single man, he had succeeded in enforcing his rights, and in recovering for the Church a duchy, the holders of which had hitherto often opposed the interests of their overlord. This was a matter of substantial importance1 for the political position and the liberty of action of the Holy See.

When he had returned to Rome, Clement VIII had a mass of thanksgiving celebrated in St. Peter’s, and reported the matter to the Cardinals appointed for the affairs of Ferrara. On the following day the treaty was read in consistory and approved. Cardinal Aldobrandini was given the legation of Ferrara. On January 29th the nephew made his entry into Ferrara, whence Cesare had departed on the previous day. The first official act of Aldobrandini was to reduce the taxes, and make other concessions. In this way he won over the populace, only the aristocracy still showing themselves to a great extent attached to the House of Este, which was connected with the duchy by such ancient ties. Just as Aldobrandini took possession of Ferrara in the name of the Holy See, so did Cardinal Bandini of Comacchio, and the vice­legate of Bologna of Cento and Pieve di Cento. The Pope informed all the ambassadors of this on February 17th, 1598, and the foreign powers through the nuncios.2 Almost all the princes hastened to send their congratulations. In March the Pope received in the Hall of Constantine the oath of fealty of the four envoys from Ferrara. He was then occupied with his preparations for his journey to the newly acquired province.

Not only the Romans, but also the ambassadors and Cardinals, Gian Francesco Aldobrandini and his physicians, advised him, especially on the grounds of the enormous cost, to give up this journey and remain in Rome. But neither for this reason, nor on account of his gout, could the Pope be induced to abandon his plan, which he thought necessary in the interests of the States of the Church. Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, too, was in favour of the journey; it would be good for the Pope’s health and for the city of Ferrara, which had suffered so much from the burdens imposed on it by the prodigal Duke Alfonso. The Cardinals at length agreed to 150,000 scudi being taken from the treasure in the Castle of St. Angelo for the journey. On April 3rd Cardinal d’Aragona was appointed legate for the city of Rome during the absence of the Pope from the City, while other important provisions were made, especially for the eventuality of a conclave.

After Clement VIII had celebrated mass at the tomb of the Princes of the Apostles on April 13th, he set out on his journey. In his retinue were Cardinals Baronius, Monte, Arigoni and Cinzio Aldobrandini; others joined him afterwards. The officials of the Rota, and all the court, made the journey at the same time. It is no wonder that the treasurer was in despair. Clement VIII spent the first night at Castelnuovo, the second at Civita Casteliana, and then at Narni, where he urged the completion of the building of the cathedral. His reception at Spoleto was very magnificent. Thence he went by way of Foligno, Camerino, Macerata and Loreto, where he made costly gifts to the Holy House, and, surrounded by fifteen Cardinals, gave the blessing to the people. At Loreto he was joined by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, who went with the Pope to Ancona, where the feast of the Ascension was kept. Here too his welcome was very magnificent. The Pope took up his abode in the bishop’s palace, high above the city, and adjoining the cathedral, where Pius II had died on his crusade. At Pesaro the Duke of Urbino paid homage to the Pope.6 On May 2nd Clement VIII visited Fano, his native city, and then at Rimini received Cesare de’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio. He conversed with him for an hour, and entertained him at his table. After a visit to Ravenna, he continued his journey by Bagnacavallo10 and Lugo11 to Ferrara. May 8th12 had been appointed for the solemn entry, at which an immense throng had assembled, including many strangers from Lombardy, Venice and Bologna. Clement VIII. was received at the Porta S. Giorgio by the bishop and clergy, and the magistrates delivered the keys of the city. The Pope then put on the pontifical vestments and mounted the sedia gestatoria, above which a baldacchino was carried. In his retinue there were eighteen Cardinals, fifteen prelates, many dignitaries of the court, the Swiss Guard, and the ambassadors of France, Venice and Savoy. The Blessed Sacrament, at the entry and throughout the journey, was carried in a precious portable tabernacle, on a white mule. The streets through which the cortege passed were adorned with tapestries, inscriptions and triumphal arches. Clement VIII went first to the cathedral, and then to the Castello, the former palace of the Este dukes, where he took up his abode.

The first and the most pressing care of Clement VIII, was to reorganize the government. For this purpose he set up a communal council, which was cleverly divided into three sections, nobles, burghers and artisans. Without restricting the supreme authority of the Cardinal, he gave this new council, which was to be elected every three years, certain rights and powers, such as the provision of food, the regulation of the rivers, the appointment of the judges and the podesta, and even of the professors of the university, powers which the Este had reserved to themselves. The Pope condoned many purely fiscal debts, and won over citizens of importance by conferring on them ecclesiastical dignities. The inhabitants of Ferrara were delighted by the confirmation of all their ancient privileges and by the labours of the legate, Aldobrandini, to restore the finances, which had been seriously damaged by the Este. On the other hand great discontent was aroused by the construction of a fortress, to make space for which many houses, and some churches and palaces had to be destroyed, among them the celebrated Belvedere, so much sung by the poets. Later on Ferrara, like Bologna, was given the right to have its own ambassador in Rome, as well as a tribunal of its own for the settlement of causes.

During the stay of Clement VIII at Ferarra, which lasted for more than six months, the saying “ubi pontifex ibi Roma” was fully confirmed. Envoys came from all parts, and princes and princesses, some to express their devotion to the vicar of Christ, and offer him their congratulations, and some on private business. The first to come, on May 8th, was the ambassador of the Emperor, and on the following day the Archduke Ferdinand, on pilgrimage to Loreto, who was received by the Pope as a son by his father. There followed the envoys of Lucca, and at the beginning of June the four representatives of the Republic of St. Mark, who were received with special courtesy. At their farewell audience the Pope jokingly said to them that he still hoped to celebrate holy mass in Santa Sofia at Constantinople. At the same time there came from Mantua Duke Vincenzo, his consort Eleanora and his sister Margherita, the mother of Alfonso II. They were engaged in a dispute with Cesare d’Este over a matter of inheritance. On May 29th there also appeared in Ferrara Ferrante Gonzaga, Prince of Guastalla. On June 19th the Pope received Federigo Pico, Prince of Mirandola. At the end of June there came the Duke of Parma, Ranuccio Farnese, to pay his homage.1 He rivalled in pomp the Duke of Mantua, who appeared with a retinue of 1200 persons. Lastly there came the governor of Milan, who was treated by the Pope with a like honour as the afore-mentioned princes.

At the end of September Clement VIII undertook an expedition to Comacchio. Everyone attempted to dissuade him from this, partly on the ground of the expense, and partly not to offend Venice, but he would not be moved from his purpose. A month later there began the preparations for the marriage of the Archduchess Margaret of Styria to Philip III, who was represented by the Duke of Sessa. The marriage of the Archduke Albert to the Infante Isabella was to take place at the same time; the Pope wished to bless both these marriages in person. The future Queen of Spain made her solemn entry on November 13th, mounted on a white palfrey, and accompanied by nineteen Cardinals, and numerous archbishops, prelates and ambassadors. After she had assisted at the Pope’s mass on the following day, together with the Archduke Albert, who had previously renounced his cardinalate, on the 15th both marriages were blessed by Clement VIII, after which the Golden Rose was conferred on Margaret. The festivities which took place on the occasion recalled the most splendid days which Ferrara had witnessed in the time of the Este. Margaret left the city on November 18th, accompanied by Cardinal Aldobrandini as far as the frontier of the States of the Church. After this the Pope began to prepare for his return journey, and on November 20th Cardinal Giovanni Francesco di S. Giorgio di Blandrata assumed the office of pro-legate. Giglioli was appointed ambassador of Ferrara at the Curia, and it was resolved to set up a bronze statue of Clement VIII.

The Pope granted further favours to the Ferrarese, and promised them to make the Po navigable; he showed himself so magnanimous that the representatives of the city left his audience chamber with tears of joy in their eyes. On November 26th Clement VIII, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in the cathedral, recommended the new possession to the protection of God in a touching prayer, and then set out upon his return journey.

He went first from Ferrara to Bologna, where he was received with great honour. Guido Reni has preserved in an etching the decorations of the festivities. Clement VIII remained in Bologna for three days; he said mass at S. Petronio, and visited the university, where he had once made his studies. The return to Rome, where the Pope was anxiously awaited, was hastened as much as possible, and to that end the retinue was reduced. On December 1st Clement VIII reached Imola, and on the 2nd honoured Faenza and Forlimpopoli with his presence ; on the 3rd he met Cardinal Aldobrandini at Meldola; on the 4th Cesena we reached, and on the 5th Rimini, where, on the following day, the Second Sunday in Advent, he said mass in the cathedral. From Rimini he went to Cattolica, on the 7th by Pesaro to Fano, on the 8th to Sinigaglia, on the 9th to Ancona, and on the 10th to Loreto. After having stayed there for several days, and having ordained Cardinals Pietro Aldobrandini and Bartolomeo Cesi priests, on December 14th the journey was continued by way of Foligno, Spoleto, Narni and Civita Casteliana. On the 19th the Pope reached Rome, where the whole of the clergy went to meet him at the Porta del Popolo. Accompanied by them he went in procession, through richly decorated streets, to St. Peter’s. The people were filled with exultation; the Pope looked very well, and had falsified the prophecies of the astrologers that he would die on the journey.1 On the following days the audiences at the Vatican were very numerous, and all flocked to congratulate him on the acquisition of Ferrara, which was celebrated by many poets and orators. It was resolved to set up a commemorative inscription in honour of Clement VIII. at the Capitol.

In the midst of these days of jubilation, there occurred a terrible disaster, owing to which the most fortunate year of the pontificate of the Aldobrandini Pope ended in sorrow. The Eternal City was afflicted by an inundation, which far surpassed all previous ones. On December 21st torrential rains had fallen, owing to which the yellow and muddy waters of the Tiber were swollen in the most alarming way. On December 23rd the river began to overflow at certain points. At first no great fears were entertained, but the waters rose from hour to hour with alarming persistence ; they passed the floodmarks of 1557, and at last even those of 1530 by two palms. It was estimated that the level of the water had risen by ten metres. Almost the whole city suffered in a terrible degree from the stench, which in the poetry of Horace was attributed to the vengeance of the Tiber god. Only the hills and some of the higher parts of the city were spared. With bewildering force the waters destroyed many houses, especially in the Borgo, on the island of S. Bartolomeo, and in the Ripetta. In many other cases the foundations were so undermined that later on they had to be supported by girders and beams, and new sub-structures; older buildings, such as the professed house of the Jesuits, had to be rebuilt owing to the damage they had sustained. The two outer arches of the Ponte Palatino, restored by Gregory XIII, fell before the raging waters, so that the medieval name of Ponte S. Maria was changed to that of Ponte Rotto. The Ponte S. Angelo and the Ponte Molle were also damaged, and all the little shops of objects of devotion near the Ponte S. Angelo were destroyed ; three salt stores belonging to the Apostolic Camera, and nine out of the twenty corn mills on the Tiber—according to other accounts as many as twelve—were carried away with all their inhabitants. Two broke into pieces at the Ponte Sisto.

In a state of indescribable confusion there floated through the streets of Rome bales of merchandize, bundles of hay, doors, books, furniture and domestic utensils. The waters, which flowed with bewildering speed, frequently changed their course, and a terrible state of panic prevailed. At the terrified cry of “the floods” the people rushed out of their houses, and in the lack of sufficient boats, sought safety, amid terrible scenes, in the higher ground, at the Castle of St. Angelo, and in the larger houses. Others took refuge on the roofs. If the city had been carried by assault by an enemy, the terror and confusion could not have been greater. The terrible height to which the water reached may be seen with alarming clearness by the marks which are still to be seen to-day on the facade of the Minerva and in other places. The inundation broke with such lightning speed that the greater number of the inhabitants were unable to provide themselves with food or the barest necessaries, and the Imperial ambassador reported that even Cardinals Madruzzo and Sforza nearly died of starvation.

The damage done in the churches was terrible. “After the fatal floods—thus the procurator of the Anima describes the state of the German national church—had beaten strongly and for a long time against the walls of our church, throwing against them roofs, timbers from mills and ships and all manner of things that they had carried away with them from all parts, but in vain, because the architectural strength had defied their efforts, they began to rage in the interior of the church; they overthrew all the tombs, scattered bodies, ashes, filth, mingling them with the water in the wells, the drinking water, earth and air, as they would; they ruined the stalls in the choir, and in the sacristy, as well as the images of Our Lady which were near the altars; as the doors could not be torn from their hinges, they were broken, crushed and to a great extent demolished; the hangings which had been attached to the pillars and other places as decoration for the feast of the Nativity (for the water began to rise on the vigil of the Nativity) were discoloured and spoiled to half their height by filthy water; almost all the marble monuments and inscriptions were damaged, among them those of the Duke of Cleves and of Pope Adrian VI of holy memory.”

The Romans passed a terrible vigil of the Nativity ; no one slept, lights were burning in all the windows, and the rising of the water was anxiously watched. At last a slight subsidence of the flood could be detected. In spite of this on the following day the churches were still so immersed in water that mass could hardly be said anywhere. Even the solemn Papal mass had to be omitted.1 During the night before St. Stephen’s day the waters began to disappear, leaving everywhere a deep layer of mire, which could only be removed with great difficulty. For a long time the basements remained filled with water, and the lower floors were uninhabitable on account of the water which had penetrated into them. It is difficult to estimate exactly the number of persons in the city and the environs who were taken by surprise and drowned by the floods. The estimates vary from 4,000 to 1,400. Immense loss was caused by the destruction of cattle, grain, wine, oil, hay, merchandize and objects of every kind, which were stored for the most part in the basements. It was estimated that there was a loss of two million gold ducats.

The Pope, who was afflicted with the deepest grief at the misfortunes of the inhabitants of the capital, and prayed almost without interruption, did all he could from the first to give every help that lay in his power. He had those who were in danger rescued by boats, and distributed food and money in all the parishes. By his orders Cardinal Aldobrandini supervised the salvage works, in which Cardinals Santori, Rusticucci, Sauli, Sfondrato and Sforza also took part, and among the aristocracy above all the Marchese Peretti. At the hospital of Santo Spirito, Camillus of Lellis, the founder of the “Fathers of a good death,” laboured all the night with six companions in moving the sick to an upper floor.

It greatly afflicted the Pope when wicked men spread the report among the people that the opening of a canal for the draining of the water from the Velino, which he had permitted, had been the cause of the inundation. An examination carried out on the spot later on proved the groundlessness of these rumours. In another quarter the blame for the inundation was attributed to the works of the Florentine government, for the draining of the valley of the Chiana. When for this reason the Romans began to construct dykes, which led to the flooding of some of the neighbouring districts of Tuscany, there followed a bitter quarrel with Florence, which threatened to develop into a war.

On January 8th, 1599, Clement VIII had made a report to the Cardinals on the catastrophe, and on the 23rd a circular was issued to the clergy and people of Rome, exhorting them to look upon the inundation as a chastisement for their sins, and to appease the anger of God by leading a better life and by doing penance. To this end processions were ordered at St. Mary Major’s and St. Peter’s. But in order to avert the recurrence of such a disaster by human means as well, a congregation of six Cardinals was ordered to discuss with experts on the subject[904] plans for the regulation of the Tiber. The congregation ordered that the mire should be cleared out of the streets, as if it remained there was reason to fear the outbreak of epidemics. A very prudent step was the prohibition to inhabit the lower floors of the houses for a month, for these had suffered especially from the moisture. There was also a prohibition of any increase in the price of food. The rebuilding works had to be hurried forward, all the more so as the jubilee would occur in the following year.

In the meantime the plans for the regulation of the Tiber were so far advanced that in June it was possible to begin the digging of a new channel across the Prati near Ponte Molle. It was feared, however, that this would not provide a really radical remedy, and that the enormous cost of 200,000 scudi would be money thrown away. This plan was therefore abandoned, and it was decided to effect another deviation of the Tiber near Orte, the cost of which was estimated at 150,000 scudi. In December 1600 and January 1601 there were fresh inundations, though less serious ones; but the plans so far adopted were proved to be impracticable. Even though it had been possible to provide the money, there were at that time no technical means equal to so difficult a task, and one on which the efforts of the Roman Emperors had already failed.

The question of the regulation of floods also caused Clement VIII anxiety in the case of Ferrara. The Pope intended to make one arm of the Po navigable, namely the Po di Primaro, and to make its right bank cultivateable; also to regulate the Reno and drain the marshes of the Romagna. The discussions on this subject begun at Ferrara were continued in the following years. To the intrinsic difficulties of the matter itself were added serious disagreements with Venice, but Clement VIII would not abandon his plan for that reason ; but it had not even begun to be carried out when he died. Among the engineers to whom the problem was entrusted was Giovanni Fontana.

In spite of the constant proofs of his favour which Clement VIII continued to show Ferrara to the end of his pontificate, the city greatly resented being deprived of its former brilliant court. Thousands of those who belonged there emigrated to Modena, while many of those who remained brooded regretfully over bye-gone days. “Thus passes the glory of the world”—wrote an aged retainer of the ducal house—“now there is no longer any duke in Ferrara, nor princesses, nor music nor singers.” Even though the city could not lose the stamp of a princely capital, it fell more and more into that silence which today still powerfully affects the wayfarer through its broad streets and its deserted piazzas. The diminution in the population of the city, however, has been enormously exaggerated by local chroniclers; according to careful research it did not amount to more than 1800 persons. Moreover a decrease of population was to be seen everywhere, not excepting Rome itself.

This was all the more painful to Clement VIII in that he did all he could to promote the welfare of his people. The greater part of what he did, however, in this matter has been forgotten and left unrecorded. But in spite of this it is known that from the first years of his reign he interested himself, as Sixtus V had already done, in the revival of the silk industry. He devoted his attention to improving the harbours of Terracina and Civitavecchia. If in spite of these and other praiseworthy efforts he was unable to prevent the decadence of the Papal States, this was not only the result of repeated bad harvests, scarcity, the scourge of the bandits and the burden of taxes, but other factors as well must be taken into account, which are clearly pointed out by the Venetian ambassador, Paruta. The provinces of the States of the Church were governed in part by legates, and in part by presidents; the larger cities had governors and the smaller ones a podesta. Once the offices of president and governor had been attainable by laymen ; thus the father of Clement VIII had held the office of governor of Fano. But gradually, especially in the time of Sixtus V, laymen disappeared from the administration in such a way that they only held the office of podesta ; all other offices were only granted to ecclesiastics, into whose hands the whole juridical, financial and political administration fell. But how difficult it was bound to be, even with the best will, for those who had been educated for ecclesiastical purposes, to adapt themselves to matters that were entirely foreign to their vocation. The very mixed duties of administration also occasioned the disadvantage that it opened out a profound gulf between laity and clergy, and that the laity were filled with a jealousy of the ecclesiastics that often degenerated into definite aver­sion. Paruta says that he had often remarked, not without amazement and disgust, how even prelates who were leading lives that were very far from priestly, were held in high esteem and rewarded, so long as they defended the privileges of the clergy against the laity, and how sometimes a prelate was blamed because he favoured the laity. He had often heard people of eminence say, that it seemed as though the clergy and laity did not belong to the same flock, and were not to be found in the same Church.1 Another disadvantage arose from the fact that a new Pope hardly ever carried on in the civil government the system of his predecessor. This was connected with the disastrous custom by which, at every change in the pontificate, all the more important offices were filled by new individuals. Thus men of proved experience, who might have been of the greatest use, lost their office. Too often they were replaced by others who, though in themselves they were good and learned, had no experience of the matters they were called upon to administer. This system of change among the officials was all the more felt in that the pontificates of the Popes, compared with the reigns of secular princes, were for the most part very short; the pontificate of a Pope was on an average nine years in duration. Of the sixteen Popes of the XVIth century, only two, Paul III and Gregory XIII had been granted a longer reign (15 years in one case and 12 in the other); six had reigned for less than a year. Compared with the sixteen Popes whom the Church had had during the XVIth century, Germany had had five Emperors, France seven kings, Spain four, and England five kings or queens.

Unsatisfactory conditions prevailed among the aristocracy of the States of the Church, for they sought to maintain themselves in their abnormal position, even after the aristocracy of other European states had become entirely subject to the power of the sovereign. They looked upon any serious enforcement of the laws as an infringement of their own rights, and therefore complained bitterly of the government of the Popes.1 In reality the great days of the aristocracy had passed away even in the Papal States, and if in the treaty of peace concluded at Vervins in 1598 between Spain and France, the Colonna and Orsini had participated, although neither of these two houses had taken part in the war, this was only an echo of bye-gone days, and an act of courtesy towards the ancient representatives of the Guelph and Ghibelline princes.

The number of the nobility in the States of the Church who devoted themselves to a military career had declined, together with the wealth and importance of the aristocratic families in general. In spite of this the new families of the nephews of the Popes looked upon it as desirable to enter into matrimonial alliances with the ancient aristocracy, as had recently been seen in the time of Sixtus V, whose grand­nephews had formed such alliances with the houses of Colonna and Orsini. The nearest approach to these celebrated families were the Conti and Savelli; the rest of the Roman aristocracy were for the most part of quite recent date, and were composed to a great extent of those who had made their fortunes in the Eternal City. Clement VIII too was very free in conferring titles, so that in the course of a few years the dignity of duke had been granted four times.

While men strove after high-sounding titles and a greater degree of magnificence, and disputes over rank often gave rise to grave scandals, financial conditions were going from bad to worse. Like everywhere else, so in Rome pomp and luxury had increased. Since the barons wished to live like princes, very often their large revenues proved insufficient; in 1595 they were all more or less in a state of debt. The nephew of the victor of Lepanto was obliged, in order to pay his debts, to found a Monte of 150,000 scudi in 1587, the “loughi” of which had to pay six per cent.; 9000 scudi had to be set aside for the payment of interest, and after three years another 9000 for the extinction of the capital, and since the revenues of Nettuno and Paliano were not sufficient for this, Nettuno was sold for 400,000 scudi to the Apostolic Camera. Other nobles too were forced to sell castles, lands and jurisdictions. Thus Virginio Orsini sold the territory of Matrice to the brother of Cardinal Montalto for 130,000 scudi.

The barons who had established Monti very often did not pay the interest, and this fact determined Clement VIII to publish in 1596 the so-called “bull of the barons,” which ordered, to satisfy the creditors of the Monti, the sale of allodial properties and jurisdictions without consideration for entail or for primogeniture. The sale was secured by this measure, which at first seemed very hard. It was in virtue of this bull that the Apostolic Camera acquired Castel Gandolfo from the Savelli. But the contracting of debts by the barons did not cease because of this. In 1600 the Sermoneta had 24,000 scudi of revenue as against 300,000 of debts. The heaviest burden of debt at that time lay upon the family of the Montalto.

Many of the nobles gave great scandal, not only by their exaggerated prodigality, but also by their ill-regulated and immoral lives. A terrible example of this state of affairs, which was made worse by the abuse prevalent in Florence and other places, of punishing deeds of blood by pecuniary penalties, was given by the notorious story of the Cenci. This noble family, whose dark palace stood not far from the Tiber, close to the Ghetto, and near the church of S. Tommaso dei Cenci, had become degenerate in the second half of the XVIth century. Christofero Cenci, a cleric of the Camera, and holding a canonry at St. Peter’s, but not a priest, for he had only the four minor orders, abused his office of general treasurer of the Apostolic Camera under Pius IV in order to enrich himself unduly. Being near to death, and tortured by remorse of conscience, in 1562 he reisgned his offices and married his mistress Beatrice Arias. We can hardly feel  surprised that the son of this couple, Francesco, who was born in 1549, soon developed the worst qualities, great immorality and a brutal disposition. As a young man he was twice imprisoned for deeds of blood, but recovered his liberty, as was common enough in the justice of that time, in return for the payment of a large sum. In 1572 he was exiled for six months from the Papal States, for ill-treating his servants.

The many sons whom Francesco Cenci had by his marriage, contracted while he was still very young, with Ersilia Santa Croce, inherited almost all the vices of their father, who was as brutal as he was sensual, and whose depravity increased as the years went by. Although Francesco, after the death of his first wife, contracted a second marriage in 1593 with Lucrezia Petroni, he had not the least idea of changing his dissolute manner of life. A criminal process brought against him in the following year for sodomy united to acts of violence, ended with the payment of a sum of 100,000 scudi, and his confinement to his own house.

Owing to the payment of such enormous fines, Francesco found himself in such financial straights that he could no longer maintain himself in Rome. He therefore retired in 1597 to Rocca Petrella, a castle belonging to the Colonna on the road from Rieti to Avezzano, but situated in Neapolitan territory. He took with him his two sons Paolo and Bernardo; his wife and daughter Beatrice had already been sent by him to Petrella in 1595. The other sons remained in Rome; the eldest, Giacomo, had married against his father’s wishes, and so had been disinherited by him. As thoroughly degen­erate as Giacomo, who had forged his father’s signature to a document for 13,000 scudi, were the two other sons: Christoforo, who fell in a duel in 1595,1 and Rocco, who was assassinated in Trastevere in 1598 in some amorous adventure.

Even in the solitude of Rocca Petrella terrible domestic conditions prevailed; quarrels and altercations were the order of the day. In the autumn of 1598, the two sons of Francesco made their escape; the castellan of the castle Olimpio Calvetti had facilitated their flight. Francesco’s rage increased when he then discovered that his twenty-one year old daughter, Beatrice, was in love with Calvetti, a married man. The castellan was ejected, and Beatrice was punished with brutal cruelty and kept under strict surveillance, as was also her stepmother. But in spite of this Beatrice found opportunities for continuing her relations with her lover, and of planning with him and her brother Giacomo, who was also burning with the desire for revenge, the murder of her father. The horrible deed, to which Lucrezia also consented, was carried out on September 9th, 1598, by Calvetti and another assassin.

The authors of the murder were unsuccessful in concealing the traces of their deed, which was discovered. Beatrice, Lucrezia, Giacomo and Bernardo Cenci were arrested. The imprisonment of the accused was not unduly rigorous, as was asserted later on ; they were able to provide themselves with food and to take counsel with their defenders. The trial commenced on January 14th, 1599, in the course of which, as it was a case of homicide, torture was employed in accordance with the law of the time. It is clear from the minutes, that Beatrice and Giacomo were the principal culprits; Lucrezia had at first vainly tried to dissuade them, and had at last given her consent. The death sentence which was pronounced on September nth, 1599, at the conclusion of the trial, was deserved by all three. Bernardo, who was still a minor, was only guilty in that he had not denounced the crime, and his punishment was commuted to that of the galleys, though he had to assist at the execution of his relatives. This took place on September nth on the gibbet near the Ponte S. Angelo, now the Piazza S. Angelo. Lucrezia and Beatrice were beheaded ; Giacomo was brained and quartered.

Baldassare Paolucci, the agent of the Duke of Mantua, attests that the tragic fate of the young Beatrice Cenci aroused general compassion in Rome. She died with great courage, and left a number of pious bequests. The public had no real idea of the terrible facts which the trial had brought to light. If the publicity of judicial trials which we have today had then existed, the populace would have stoned the members of this degenerate family even before the execution, instead of paying honour to the corpse of the parricide, when it was taken to S. Pietro in Montorio. As no one had any knowledge of the facts of the trial, it came about that in course of time Beatrice was transformed from a criminal into a martyr. It was stated that she had been driven into committing her crime in order to defend her honour against the infamous assault of her father. This view easily gained credence owing to the notorious depravity of Francesco, and gradually Beatrice came to be venerated as a second Roman Lucrezia. This idea was borne out by the delightful portrait of a girl, attributed to Guido Reni, with her yellow hair, and her head covered by a white veil like a turban, which is preserved in the Borghese Gallery. The tender and profound melancholy which fills the eyes of the person represented in the picture, has contributed not a little to the popularity of the legend of the Cenci. In reality the painting can hardly be the work of Guido Reni, who only came to Rome in 1602, while the tradition that the person represented is Beatrice is very uncertain. From the trial it is clear, beyond all possibility of doubt, that the unhappy girl has been made into a symbol of outraged innocence without any reasonable grounds. The defender of Beatrice, the celebrated Prospero Farinaccio, put forward in defence of his client a crime on the part of her father, who tried to lead his daughter into incest, but he gave no proofs. Nor did Beatrice herself nor her brothers appeal to any such crime on the part of Francesco; on the contrary it is clear from the minutes of the trial that not only was there immoral intercourse between the girl and the castellan of Petrella, the murderer of Cenci, but also that Beatrice co-operated in the killing of her father.

Recent research has also destroyed that other part of the legend of the Cenci, which made the execution an act of judicial homicide, which had no other purpose than to secure the enrichment of the Aldobrandini by the confiscation of the family inheritance. The confiscation of property which followed upon condemnation to death, and the effects of which Clement VIII and his successors sought to narrow down by successive acts of grace, was no exceptional case, but was in complete accordance with the penal laws of those days. The State Archives of Rome contain hundreds of examples. Fundamentally, this law, in the case of homicide among relatives—in which very often the desire to obtain property was the principal motive of the crime—was very reasonable. It is therefore absurd to say that Clement VIII. condemned the Cenci to the gibbet in order to give their possessions to the Aldobrandini. Thus in this respect as well the legend of the Cenci, which was afterwards often made use of against the government of the Popes, falls to the ground.

If Clement VIII allowed free course to the full rigour of justice in the case of the Cenci, he was led to do so by the frequent repetition of such crimes, especially among the aristocracy. Thus, about that time, a member of another family belonging to the Roman aristocracy, Paolo Santa Croce, through greed of money, killed his own mother. The assassin escaped punishment by flight, but his brother Onofrio was later on (January, 1604) beheaded at the Ponte S. Angelo for having incited him to the crime. The same penalty had been inflicted in 1592 upon a certain Troilo Savelli, who had become a criminal in his early youth. There was also a horrible tragedy in the house of the Massimi during the pontificate of Clement VIII. Lelio de’ Massimi, Marchese di Prassedi, had in his old age become betrothed to a Sicilian lady of doubtful fame. His four sons killed their step-mother by shooting her. They took to flight, but all perished within a short time; the second, Marcantonio, who wished to become the head of the house, got rid of his brother Luca by poison; he was condemned to death, and died repentant on January 16th, 1599; the third lost his life in the Turkish wars, while the fourth was murdered by a jealous rival.

In spite of the rigour of justice, crimes continued in the city, as we are told in a report from Rome of January, 1604. Clement VIII also had bitter experiences in his struggle against public immorality in Rome. He also fought against the scourge of mendicity and against extravagance in women’s dress, but without any substantial success. He severely punished the spreading of false news. He would have liked to have entirely forbidden the amusements of the carnival, but as this was not possible, he tried at least to restrain them and praised the efforts of the Jesuits who sought to distract the people from such dangerous amusements by means of the Forty Hours. The increased severity of ecclesiastical penalties against duelling, ordered by Clement VIII, and already laid down by Pius IV and Gregory XIII, concerned not only the Papal States, but the whole of Christendom.

The relations between the aristocracy of the Papal States and the sovereigns of other states were an anomaly. The coats-of-arms of foreign powers on the Roman palaces, whose owners were in their service or belonged to their party, bore witness to this for a long time to come. A list of the Spanish ambassador Sessa, who left Rome in 1603, shows how many nobles were in receipt of or aspired to receive Spanish pensions. In this, besides the Colonna, we find the Orsini, Conti, Se moneta, Frangipani, Caetani and Caffarelli. The rebellion of the Farnese in August, 1604 showed how dangerous the relations of the Italian aristocracy with Spain might become. The events of that time caused Clement VIII the greatest sorrow, and had a disastrous effect upon his health.

From the beginning of his pontificate Clement VIII had frequently suffered from gout. Stone developed for the first time in 1595, and again in November, 1596, causing for a time serious anxiety for his life, especially as Clement would not hear of not discharging all business in person as usual. During a long relapse in the summer and autumn of 1597, which confined the Pope to his bed for a long time, this was out of the question. During this year his state of health caused so much anxiety that contrary to his custom he was not able to go to Frascati.1 When he fell ill again in January, 1598, the doctors attributed this to his having resumed work too soon. The wearisome journey to Ferrara and his sojourn there benefited the Pope a good deal, but naturally his attacks of gout did not spare him even there.

The Pope’s health improved still more during the following years, although he was at times tortured by arthritis and nephritis. In 1599 the astrologers predicted an early change in the pontificate, and their assertions sounded so convincing that they commanded a wide hearing; only Clement VIII. himself paid no attention to them. During the Holy Year he underwent all the fatigue like a young man,7 although he was repeatedly obliged to keep his bed by gout. He learned with great annoyance that during his illness men had been discussing the approaching conclave. “You would like to see me dead—he said in January 1601 to one of the ambassadors—but as you see, we are still alive.”

In September 1601, Barga, who had been Clement VIII’s doctor for many years, and whom he greatly esteemed, died. The new Papal physician prescribed a diet, and recommended the Pope to take more liquid, which did him good, and during 1602 Clement VIII seemed better than ever. In November a more serious indisposition gave rise to all manner of rumours, but when the Pope again made his appearance in public he looked so well that it was said that he would yet survive Cardinals Rusticucci and Galli, who during his illness had been taking a lively interest in the coming election. If during this year and the following one there were still attacks of arthritis Clement VIII did not feel ill and was very cheerful. The year 1604 opened less hopefully, and in January an attack of gout caused all the greater anxiety in that it was accompanied by want of appetite and insomnia, and also because the seventy year old Pope refused to take any care of himself. In March Clement himself thought that his end was at hand, but soon afterwards he was again restored to health. The strictness with which he observed the fast brought about another relapse in April, but during the summer he once again felt so much stronger as to be able to adhere to his custom of himself carrying the Blessed Sacrament in the procession of Corpus Domini. On the vigil of the Assumption he went fasting to St. Mary Major’s, kept the fast of the vigil with all strictness and did a great deal of work, but this exertion, which had never before harmed him, this time had a serious effect upon him. In September he was much worried by the anxieties occasioned by the rising of the Farnese, but when he returned on October 5th from his beloved Frascati he felt so much better that he spoke of making a pilgrimage to Monte Cassino, from which however he was dissuaded. The winter passed fairly well, but in January, 1605, the gout returned. On January 19th the Pope unexpectedly paid a visit to the tomb which he had erected to his mother at the Minerva, and remained there for a full hour. His state of health was still so good that Cardinal Aldobrandini was able to go to the archbishopric of Ravenna, which had recently been conferred on him, and where he intended to hold a synod. On the 21st the Pope presided at the congregation on the question of grace. On January 30th Cardinal Palotta congratulated him in the name of the Sacred College on the beginning of a new year of his pontificate; the Pope replied that he would like soon to be delivered from the labours and burdens of his high office.

This desire was soon to be granted. On February 10th, 1605, during a session of the Inquisition, the old man had a slight apoplectic stroke, and a courier was at once sent to Aldobrandini bidding him return immediately. In order to prevent alarm in Rome the carnival festivities were permitted, and it was given to be understood that the Pope was only suffering from a chill. Clement VIII. knew that his end was come, and had Extreme Unction administered. As there was then a slight improvement, those about him once more began to hope, but this was nullified by further attacks of apoplexy during the night between the Saturday and Sunday, February 20th, 1605. In the evening of that day Cardinal Aldobrandini arrived, but the sick man had lost consciousness. The Pope then revived, and recognized his nephew with joy, but his mental faculties were completely enfeebled. His strong constitution still resisted for a time, until on March 5th, a further stroke caused his death.

In spite of a pontificate lasting thirteen years, the memory of Clement VIII, both from the ecclesiastical point of view and the political, had fallen into oblivion. If he did not meet with a worthy biographer, this was partly the fault of his relatives, who for too long timorously prevented access to the acta of his government. But at last the return of these treasures to the Papal Secret Archives, due to the far-seeing care of Leo XIII, has been of great service to the memory of Clement VIII. Thus in his case too is verified the saying, that the best defence of the Popes is the knowledge of their lives, a thing that is no less true of the zeal displayed by Clement VIII in the field of science and art.

CHAPTER XI.

Clement VIII. and Learning.—Torquato Tasso.