After the death of Nicholas IV, in April 1292, the conclave met to elect the new Pope but the College of Cardinals, made up of 12 members, was divided among the supporters of the Orsini and the Colonna , which made it impossible for any of the candidates proposed by each of the factions to outnumber their opponent. After two years of accusations, reproaches... and other niceties, only a man oblivious to all those disputes could agree on the conclave... Pietro di Murrone Why wasn't Pietro involved in these intrigues?
Pietro, born in Naples, was a Benedictine monk who within a few years of being ordained returned to his homeland to become a hermit… five years of solitary and ascetic life in a cave in the mountains. As in many of these cases, much to his regret, the locals began to visit him and several of them even decided to accompany Pietro in his retirement, which would be the germ of the order of the Celestines that Urbano would approve years later. IV. Pietro only accepted the appointment when they made him see that the divine will was above his own. In 1294 he was appointed Pope with the name of Celestino V .
His first decision was to transfer the papal seat to Naples, away from the intrigues of Rome. Although he tried, he soon realized that he was not ready and only five months later he decided to resign:he issued a decree allowing papal resignation and, logically, he was the first to use it. He returned to his ascetic life in his former abode, the cave from which he should never have come out.
After nine days, the new conclave elected Benedetto Gaetani , of the Colonnas, as the new Pope. Boniface VIII , name chosen by Benedetto, he returned to transfer the papal seat to Rome and ordered the capture of the previous Pope. Although Pietro had resigned, he still had many followers and Bonifacio understood that this situation undermined his authority. The hermit attempted to flee to Greece but was captured and imprisoned in Fumore Castle. After 9 months of confinement and prayer - they say even fasting - he died. Surely at some point during those 9 months he pronounced the phrase " with how well I was in my cave... ”.
Boniface VIII
After some clashes with various kings to see who peed the furthest and with the coffers of the Church trembling, he came up with an idea to replenish them:in 1300 he promulgated the first Holy Year , all the pilgrims who visited the basilica of San Pedro would obtain a plenary indulgence. That brutal tourist-religious promotion for the city of Rome, for which the innkeepers and merchants knew how to thank him, it was a complete success:it is estimated that some 200,000 people, including devout Christians and the parasites (thieves, prostitutes...) that usually accompany mass migrations, visited the city. During the celebration of the Holy Year, people crowded the streets near St. Peter's Square, preventing the passage of carriages, which caused numerous incidents. To put order in the midst of that chaos, the Pope ordered that the central part of the streets be marked with white lines so that carriages could cross on one side and pedestrians on the other .
