LAC VERY RARE PARCHMENT IN THE NAME OF THE POPE CLEMENT XII 1731 ANNO II

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LAC VERY RARE PARCHMENT IN THE NAME OF THE POPE CLEMENT XII 1731 ANNO II:
$188.68

LAC
LONDON ANCIENT COINSVery rare parchment - vellum 1731 in the name ofPope Clement XII(7 April 1652 - 6 February 1740), bornLorenzo CorsiniDate - 1731cm 31 x 21Manuscript in latin. Very fine style and decorated letters.BR2
Pope Clement XIIClement XIIPapacy began12 July 1730Papacy ended6 February 1740PredecessorBenedict XIIISuccessorBenedict XIVPersonal detailsBirth nameLorenzo CorsiniBornApril 7, 1652(1652-04-07)
Florence,Grand Duchy of TuscanyDiedFebruary 6, 1740 (aged87)
Rome,Papal StateOther Popes named ClementSeeCorsinifor other uses of that name

Pope Clement XII(7 April 1652 ï¿½ 6 February 1740), bornLorenzo Corsini, wasPopefrom 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.

Born inFlorence, the son of BartolomeoCorsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocraticlawyerand financial manager under preceding pontiffs. He is known for building the new faï¿½ade of theBasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, beginning construction of theTrevi Fountain, and the purchase ofAlessandro Cardinal Albani\'s collection of antiquities for the papal gallery. He was createdCardinal-PriestofSanta Susannain 1706.

UnderPope Benedict XIII(1724ï¿½30), the finances of thePapal Stateshad been delivered into the hands ofNiccolï¿½ Cardinal Cosciaand other members of the curia, who had drained the financial resources of the see. After deliberating for four months, theCollege of Cardinalsselected Lorenzo Cardinal Corsini, 78 years old and with failing eyesight, who had held all the important offices of theRoman Curia. Clement XII was one of the oldest men to be elected Pope. (Joseph Cardinal Ratzingerwas electedPopeBenedict XVIin the April, 2005conclavethree days after turning 78.) As aCorsini, with his mother aStrozzi, the new pope represented a family in the highest level of Florentine society, with a cardinal in every generation for the previous hundred years.

Corsini was a lawyer, with a degree from theUniversity of Pisa, who had practiced law under the able direction of his uncle, Neri Cardinal Corsini. After the death of his uncle and his father, in 1685, Lorenzo, now thirty-three, would have become head of the Corsini. Instead he resigned his right ofprimogenitureand fromPope Innocent XI(1676ï¿½89) 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.

In 1696 Corsini was appointed treasurer-general and governor of theCastel Sant\'Angelo. His good fortune increased during the pontificate ofPope Clement XI(1700ï¿½21), who employed his talents as a courtier and rewarded him with a cardinal\'s hat, on May 17, 1706, retaining his services as papal treasurer.

He advanced still further underPope Benedict XIII, who made himprefect of the judicial tribunal known as theSegnatura di Giustizia. He was successively Cardinal-Priest ofSan Pietro in Vincoliand Cardinal-Bishop ofFrascati.

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 inTrasteverefor theRiarii, and now known as the Palazzo Corsini (the seat of theRegia Accademia dei Lincei). In 1754, his nephew, Cardinal Neri Corsini, founded there the famous Corsini Library.

Papal styles of
Pope Clement XII

Reference styleHis HolinessSpoken styleYour HolinessReligious styleHoly FatherPosthumous stylenone

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 Coscia, was heavily fined 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 it poured into Clement XII\'s treasury an annual sum amounting to nearly a half million scudi, enabling him to undertake the extensive building programs for which he is chiefly remembered, but which he was never able to see.

A competition for the majestic faï¿½ade of theSan Giovanni in Lateranowas won by architectAlessandro Galilei. The faï¿½ade 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.Andrea Corsini. He restored theArch of Constantineand built the governmental palace of theConsultaon theQuirinal. He purchased fromCardinal Albanifor 60,000 scudi a famous collection of statues, inscriptions, etc., and added it to the gallery of theCapitol. He paved the streets of Rome and the roads leading from the city, and widened the Corso. He began the triumphant BaroqueFontana di Trevi, 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.

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 Marinofailed, Clement XII disavowed the arbitrary action of his legate, CardinalAlberoni, in seizingSan Marino, and restored its independence. He was also rebuffed in Papal claims over theDuchies of ParmaandPiacenza.

In ecclesiastic affairs he issued the first papal decree against theFreemasonson April 28, (1738), it was titledIn eminenti. He canonizedSaint Vincent de Pauland proceeded with vigour against the FrenchJansenists. He campaigned for the reunion of the Roman andOrthodox churches, received thePatriarchof theCoptic Churchand persuaded theArmenian Patriarchto remove theanathemaagainst theCouncil of ChalcedonandPope Leo I(440ï¿½461). He dispatchedJoseph Simeon Assemanito the East for the twofold purpose of continuing his search for manuscripts and presiding as legate over a national council ofMaronites. He created the youngest Cardinal ever when on 19 December 1735, he namedLuis Antonio Jaime de Borbï¿½n y Farnesio, Royal Infant of Spain, age 8, to theSacred College. He did much to develop schooling in Ottoman Albania as well, as his mother was from Albanian origins and his forefathers were soldiers under the command ofScanderbeg\'s army.

Pope Clement XII\'s tomb is in the Capella Corsini of theBasilica of St. John Lateranand was completed by the sculptorsMainiand Monaldi. His bust was completed byFilippo della Valle(seeterracota bust.).