Cattedrale
di
San Lorenzo
Three Popes died in Perugia. Urban IV was poisoned and Martin IV ``met what seems to have been an exclusively medieval doom, a surfeit of eels''.
The Cattedrale di San Lorenzo was the scene of four Papal conclaves. One of my favorite stories of Perugian history took place here. In 1292 the College of Cardinals were unable for two years to elect a Pope due to a stalemate. The college had allegiances evenly split between two rival powerful Roman families. After many failed deliberations held in various places they met in Perugia and had their final conclave here in the cloisters of San Lorenzo (an area called the Canonica).
It was here that they learned of a devout 80 year old reclusive hermit who had been living in a cave in the mountains for 50 years, Pietro da Morrone. The idea of electing this man Pope was a compromise for both sides and each thought he would be easy to control. Pietro da Morrone was elected unanimously without his knowledge. When the Papal delegates informed him of this, the poor old man refused and tried to flee! He was captured and forced into the pontifical vestments. As Pope Celestine V, probably the most unhappy of all the Popes, he served for just five months when he finally convinced the church to allow him to abdicate. All he wanted was to return to his mountain refuge but the next Pope instead imprisoned him where he died just 10 months later.
A Tale of Two Caesars
After the death of Julius Caesar (44BCE) it was unclear who was going to take the throne, Octavian or Mark Antony. Octavian was the newly adopted son of Julius Caesar, surprisingly declared as such in Julius' Will discovered after his stabbing.
Mark Antony was close to Julius' widow Calpurnia who turned over much of Julius's belongings to Mark Antony just hours after his assassination, including Julius' Will which contained the surprise announcement of naming Octavian his heir.
The age of the two had to have also been considered, Mark Antony was 39 at the time of Julius' death while Octavian was a mere 19. Rome would later become known for impetuous bratty teenage emperors but at this time that norm hadn't been established.
Mark Antony had also formed an alliance with Cleopatra who had already had a son with Julius, so the thought that Mark Antony and Cleopatra would rule was not entirely unthinkable, thus ensuring Cleopatra's son as a legitimate heir.
If anyone would have asked me I think I would have been convinced Mark Antony would prevail over Octavian. And it's interesting to imagine how that would play out, would Rome have moved to Alexandria, much like it later moved to Constantinople? Would the old Rome shrivel up? In the first few years after Julius Caesar's death this was the question on everyone's mind.
Perugia, like all Roman provinces, had to decide who they were to support and unfortunately for them they picked Mark Antony.
Octavian prevailed. Changing his name to Augustus, his rule marked a significant turning point in Roman history and his long reign is noted for its stability and prosperity. He is remembered as a good Emperor.
But the people of Perugia saw his wrath. As punishment for Perugia not siding with him he laid siege on the poor town and burnt it down.
Deep under the Cathedral of San Lorenzo is the Museo del Capitolo. Here you will see the remnants of the old pre-Roman Etruscan walls and the supporting structure of the Temple of Juno where the Cathedral di San Lorenzo stands atop today. In the subterranean site that goes down many layers, many floors, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, there is a solid thick black line burnt into the stone which is evidence of the Augustine scorch. I rubbed my finger on one part of the black line and even now two thousand years later, my fingertip was covered in soot from that fire. I was so taken aback by this I neglected to take a picture.
The first two photos are massive Etruscan stone walls, you can see the precision in which the stones were cut to order, they made me think of the marvel of Egyptian technology. The third image is part of a Roman road in the same area with deep grooves worn in by wheeled carts over hundreds of years.
