Pope Clement XII (Latin:Clemens XII;Italian:Clemente XII; 7 April 1652 – 6 February 1740), bornLorenzo Corsini, was head of theCatholic Church and ruler of thePapal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740.
Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal finances. He thus became known for building the new façade of theBasilica of Saint John Lateran, beginning construction of theTrevi Fountain,[2] and the purchase of CardinalAlessandro Albani's collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. In his 1738 bullIn eminenti apostolatus, he provides the first public papal condemnation ofFreemasonry.
Lorenzo Corsini was born inFlorence in 1652 as the son of BartolomeoCorsini, Marquis of Casigliano, and ElisabettaStrozzi, the sister of theDuke of Bagnuolo. Both of his parents belonged to the old Florentine nobility. He was a nephew of CardinalNeri Corsini and was a distant relative of SaintAndrew Corsini.[3]
Corsini practised law under the able direction of his uncle, CardinalNeri Corsini. After the death of his uncle and his father, in 1685, Corsini, now thirty-three, would have become head of the Corsini. Instead, he renounced his right ofprimogeniture and fromPope Innocent XI (1676–1689) he purchased, according to the custom of the time, for 30,000scudi, a position of prelatial rank and devoted his wealth and leisure to the enlargement of the library bequeathed to him by his uncle.[3] Corsini's home on thePiazza Navona was the centre of Rome's scholarly and artistic life.[4]
In 1696, Corsini was appointed treasurer-general and governor of theCastel Sant'Angelo. His good fortune increased during the pontificate ofPope Clement XI (1700–1721),[3] who employed his talents as a courtier and named himCardinal-Priest ofSanta Susanna on 17 May 1706, retaining his services as papal treasurer.[3]
Under Benedict XIII, the finances of thePapal States had been delivered into the hands of CardinalNiccolò Coscia and other members of the curia, who had drained the financial resources of the see. Benedict died in 1730, and in the conclave that followed his death, after deliberating for four months, theCollege of Cardinals selected Corsini, 78 years old and with failing eyesight, who had held all the important offices of theRoman Curia.[3] No pope has since been elected at an older age than Clement XII when he was elected.[a]
As aCorsini, with his mother aStrozzi, the new pope represented a family at the highest level of Florentine society, with a cardinal in every generation for the previous hundred years.
On 1 May 1730, several of the cardinals initially settled upon electing CardinalGianantonio Davia but had been unable to secure the necessary support. To that end, they refocused their efforts on getting Corsini elected, securing him 31 votes. Corsini, however, was not seriously considered as a candidate until about early July when the candidacy ofPietro Marcellino Corradini started to waver. Meanwhile, the French, Spanish, and Germans were perfectly amenable to Corsini's election.[5]
Corsini took his papal name in memorial toPope Clement XI, who created him cardinal.
His first moves as Pope Clement XII were to restore the papal finances. He demanded restitution from the ministers who had abused the confidence of his predecessor. The chief culprit, Cardinal Niccolò Coscia, was heavily fined,excommunicated and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Papal finances were also improved through reviving the public lottery, which had been suppressed by the severe morality of Benedict XIII. Soon money poured into Clement XII's treasury, an annual sum amounting to nearly a half millionscudi, enabling him to undertake the extensive building programs for which he is chiefly remembered,[3] but which he was never able to see.
A competition for the majestic façade of theBasilica of Saint John Lateran was won by architectAlessandro Galilei. The façade he designed is perhaps more palatial than ecclesiastic, and was finished by 1735. Clement XII erected in that ancient basilica a magnificent chapel dedicated to his 14th-century kinsman, St.Andrew Corsini. He restored theArch of Constantine and built thePalazzo della Consulta on theQuirinal Hill. He purchased from CardinalAlessandro Albani for 60,000 scudi a famous collection of statues, inscriptions, etc., and opened it to the public as theCapitoline Museums. He paved the streets of Rome and the roads leading from the city and widened theVia del Corso. He began the triumphant BaroqueTrevi Fountain, one of the noted ornaments of Rome. Under his reign, a port was built atAncona, with a highway that gave easy access to the interior. He drained the malarial marshes of the Chiana nearLake Trasimeno.The pope founded in 1732 the Italo-Albanian College Library ofSan Demetrio Corone inCalabria.[6][3]
Politically, however, this was not a successful papacy among the secular powers of Europe. When the attempt of Papal forces to take over the ancient independent Republic ofSan Marino failed, Clement XII disavowed the arbitrary action of his legate, CardinalGiulio Alberoni, in seizing San Marino, and restored its independence. He was also rebuffed in Papal claims over theDuchy of Parma and Piacenza.[3]
Though he was blind and compelled to keep to his bed, from which he gave audiences and transacted affairs of state, he surrounded himself with capable officials, many of them his Corsini relatives, but he did little for his family except to purchase and enlarge the palace built inTrastevere for theRiarii, and now known as thePalazzo Corsini (the seat of theAccademia dei Lincei). In 1754, his nephew, CardinalNeri Maria Corsini, founded therein the famous Corsini Library.[3]
Clement XII created 35 cardinals in fifteen consistories held throughout his pontificate. The first individual he raised into the cardinalate was his nephewNeri Maria Corsini while he also raised his future successor Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico (Pope Clement XIII) to the cardinalate. He also raised his nephewGiovanni Antonio Guadagni to the cardinalate in 1731.
The pope named five new saints during his reign, the most notable beingVincent de Paul. He also beatified eight others, including his predecessorPope Benedict XI.
Clement XII died on 6 February 1740 at 9:30 am due to complications fromgout. His remains were transferred to his tomb in theBasilica of Saint John Lateran on 20 July 1742.[3] Pope Clement XII's tomb is in the Capella Corsini of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and was completed by the sculptorsGiovanni Battista Maini and Carlo Monaldi. His bust was completed byFilippo della Valle.[7]
^Gross, Hanns (1990).Rome in the Age of Enlightenment: the Post-Tridentine syndrome and the ancient regime. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 28.ISBN0-521-37211-9.
^abcdefghijklm One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Loughlin, James (1908). "Pope Clement XII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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