The “Conclave” Room (1/5)
The “Conclave” Room (2/5)
The “Conclave” Room (3/5)
The “Conclave” Room (4/5)
The “Conclave” Room (5/5)
Second level

5 The “Conclave” Room

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The stairs you just walked on transported you many centuries ahead, now a brief time gate opens up. Because of its architectural framing, the room you are in "talks" a language completely different from the areas you visited so far – you are in a Medieval environment now. The making of this vast room was strictly linked with the Popes who used to live in Perugia back then, that is, in the years between 1216 and 1305. Not a very long epoch, yet not less than five Conclaves (for the election of a new Pope) were held in that time span. According to sources, the Pontiffs used to come to Perugia quite often, and in some cases they spent whole months here, so that a proper Papal palace had to be built. That is not amazing, after all, since Perugia is not far from Rome; and as it was a Guelph town (i.e. pro-Pope, against the Emperor), the Popes had great political interests here.

In the past, the rules for a Conclave were different from nowadays. It was not mandatory for the new head of the Catholic Church to be elected in Rome: he was chosen by the Cardinals in the same town in which his predecessor had died. This is why so many Conclaves took place in Perugia. Yes, during their stay in Perugia, even five Popes met their death.

The first Perugia Conclave was held in 1216 when Innocent III died; whose successor was Honorius III. Both played a major role in Church history, as both worked on the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi so that it might be canonically approved.

In July 1294 Celestine V (real name: Pietro da Morrone) became the Pope. He has become famous for abdicating very few months after his election; according to the most common conjecture, Dante refers to him in the Divine Comedy while showing "the shade of him / Who made through cowardice the great refusal."

In 1305, Clement V was chosen, who in 1308 would officially recognize the University of Perugia. He is remembered for having suppressed the Knights Templar and moved the Papal See from Rome to Avignon, in France, starting a some seventy-year long period in Church history called "the Avignon captivity."

On stepping beyond this brief time gate, the travel continues. From now on, you will be going into the old acropolis, in an area that had lied completely underground until some decades ago.