From the Exceptional Sixtus V (1585–1590) and the Short Pontificates of Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV and Innocent IX (Both 1590–1591) to the Turn of the Century and Clement VIII (1592–1605)

The third and final part of the analysis focuses on the time period between 1585 and the turn of the century. It leads us from the exceptional pontificate of Sixtus V to the short pontificates of Urban VII, Gregory XIV and Innocent IX, and finally to the last pope of the sixteenth century, Clement VIII. In 1585, after Gregory XIII's death and 13 years of Boncompagni rule, Roman elites are ready for a change. Gregory XIII's heirs, his two nepotes, are divided. The Medici and the Farnese families are able to seize the opportunity and gather cardinals behind them. However, contrary to popular belief, Sixtus V was very much a man intent on ruling according to his own ideas. Although the new pope practiced the modest lifestyle of a Franciscan, his personal ambitions soon became apparent in his family politics. The Peretti pontificate is characterized by a phase of heightened artistic patronage, which includes numerous realized and unrealized building projects.