Clement VIII

Ippolito Aldobrandini (1536-1605) came from a family of Florentine origins, which had left Florence because of disagreements with the Medici family. Graduated from law school, he worked as a consistorial lawyer and auditor of Rota, being ordained a priest only in 1580. He was made ??a cardinal in 1585, and in 1588 he was sent as legate in Poland. On the death of Pope Innocent IX, became pope at the end of the conclave, celebrated between 10 and 30 January 1592, taking the name of Clement VIII. During his pontificate, Pope Aldobrandini achieved important results, including: the publication of a new edition of the Vulgate, the Breviary, the Roman Missal and the Index of Forbidden Books; the introduction in all the dioceses of the Forty Hours’ devotion; the recognition of Henry IV as the new king of France after his conversion to Catholicism; the annexation of the city of Ferrara to the Papal States. Powerful patron of artists and writers such as Carlo Maderno and Torquato Tasso, Clement VIII is also known as the pope who condemned to death the philosopher Giordano Bruno, burned alive in the Roman square of Campo de’ Fiori on 17 February 1600.