Antipope Clement VII

Robert of Geneva (1342 – 16 September 1394) was elected to the papacy as Clement VII by the French cardinals who opposed Urban VI, and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France.

Biography

He was the son of Amadeus III, Count of Geneva, and was born in chateau d'Annecy in 1342. He became Bishop of Thérouanne in 1361, Archbishop of Cambrai in 1368, and a cardinal on 30 May 1371.

In 1377, while serving as papal legate in upper Italy (1376–78), in order to put down a rebellion in the Papal States, known as the War of the Eight Saints, he personally commanded troops lent to the papacy by the condottiere John Hawkwood to reduce the small city of Cesena in the territory of Forlì, which resisted being added to the Patrimony of Peter for the second time in a generation; there he authorized the massacre of 3,000 - 8,000 civilians, an atrocity even by the rules of war at the time, which earned him the nickname butcher of Cesena.

In 1392, he inherited the title of Count of Geneva, his four older brothers having each in turn inherited dying without issue before him. The title then passed from him through his eldest sister Mary to her second husband Humbert VII de Thoire.

Avignon Papacy

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1377, during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (then in the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, and now in today's France) rather than in Rome. This situation arose from the conflict between the Papacy and the French crown.

Following the strife between Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII, and the death of his successor Benedict XI after only eight months in office, a deadlocked conclave finally elected Clement V, a Frenchman, as Pope in 1305. Clement declined to move to Rome, remaining in France, and in 1309 moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy". A total of seven popes reigned at Avignon; all were French, and they increasingly fell under the influence of the French Crown. Finally, on September 13, 1376, Gregory XI abandoned Avignon and moved his court to Rome (arriving on January 17, 1377), officially ending the Avignon Papacy.

Pope Clement VII

Pope Clement VII (Latin: Clemens VII; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534), born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was Pope from 19 November 1523 to his death in 1534.

Early life

He was born in Florence one month after the assassination of his father, Giuliano de' Medici, following the Pazzi Conspiracy. Although his parents had not had a formal marriage, a canon law loophole allowing for the parents to have been betrothed per sponsalia de presenti meant that Giulio was considered legitimate. He was thus the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who educated him in his youth. Clement's mother, Fioretta Gorini, also died leaving him an orphan.

Giulio was made a Knight of Rhodes and Grand Prior of Capua, and, upon the election of his cousin Giovanni de' Medici to the pontificate as Leo X (1513–21), he soon became a powerful figure in Rome. Upon his cousin's accession to the papacy, Giulio became his principal minister and confidant, especially in the maintenance of the Medici interest at Florence as archbishop of that city.

Avignon

Avignon [French pronunciation: ​[a.viˈɲɔ̃]] (Latin: Avenio, Arpitan: Avignoun, Occitan: Avinhon), is a commune in south-eastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 90,194 inhabitants of the city (as of 2011), about 12,000 live in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval ramparts.

Between 1309 and 1377 during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples. Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. The town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts.

The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.

The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

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