🕍 Viterbo, the City of Popes: Rise and Fall of a Lost Power

🕍 Viterbo, the City of Popes: Rise and Fall of a Lost Power

There was a time when Rome trembled, and Viterbo protected. A time when Tuscia wasn’t just a land of passage, but the beating heart of Christendom.It may seem incredible today, walking through the quiet alleys and patient stones of the historic center, but between the 12th and 13th centuries, seven popes lived in Viterbo and from here governed the Church.

📜 Why Did the Popes Move to Viterbo?

In 1145, Pope Eugene III was the first to take refuge in Viterbo. Rome was in turmoil, overwhelmed by revolts and power struggles between the Senate and the Curia.The popes sought safety, and Viterbo offered loyalty, strong walls, and a strategic position. Unlike the turbulent capital, here the pontiffs found the order they needed to rule.

The relocation became official between 1257 and 1281, when Pope Alexander IV transferred the Curia to Viterbo. At the time, the city was Guelph-aligned and well fortified, and it was also appreciated for its thermal waters, which were beneficial for the aging popes and cardinals.

🏛️ Viterbo: Capital of Christendom

In this period, Viterbo wasn’t just a refuge — it became the center of the Christian world. Here’s why:

• 🛡️ Political loyalty and military safety: Viterbo firmly sided with the papacy, opposing the imperial-aligned Ghibellines.

• 📍 A stop on the Via Francigena: The city was a key stage for pilgrims traveling from northern Europe to Rome, ensuring a constant flow of visitors and cultural influence.

• 🏗️ Architectural expansion: Viterbo experienced a true “medieval Renaissance.” The Palazzo dei Papi, built between 1255 and 1266, became a new “Holy See,” hosting synods, audiences, and consistories.

🔐 The First Conclave and the Birth of a Tradition

One of the most remarkable and decisive events in Church history took place in Viterbo: the first conclave in history, in 1268.After the death of Pope Clement IV, the cardinals took almost three years to choose a successor.Frustrated by the delay, the people of Viterbo locked the cardinals inside the Palazzo dei Papi, reduced their food supply, and even removed the roof to force a decision.This gave birth to the term "conclave" (cum clave = “with key”) — a practice still used today for the election of a new pope.

📉 The Slow Decline: When Viterbo Lost Its Throne

Viterbo’s prestige was not eternal. Its decline began with the pope’s return to Rome, and ended with the transfer of the papal seat to Avignon in 1309.

Several factors contributed:

• 🏛️ Rome’s political stabilization: Over time, the papacy regained control of the capital.

• 💰 Economic and cultural decline: Without the presence of the Curia, Viterbo lost investments, artists, and influence.

• 🏙️ Rome re-centered: After the return from Avignon, the popes chose to strengthen Rome as the sole ecclesiastical center, excluding Viterbo from the heart of Christendom.

🕰️ Today: Between Memory and Stone

Viterbo has lost its political power, but not its significance.The Palazzo dei Papi, the loggias, the ancient inscriptions, and the solemn breath of its stones still whisper its past greatness.

The city doesn’t need to reclaim lost power.It still wears it, carved in its walls, echoed in the sound of its bells and in the footsteps of pilgrims.

✍️ Conclusion: A Silent Capital

Today, those who visit Viterbo discover a city that once stood at the summit of spiritual power.A discreet capital, one that doesn’t shout its past, but murmurs it through the silence of its piazzas.

Viterbo was Urbs Papalis. It still is — for those who know how to see beyond time.