Boniface VIII

(Benedetto Caetani; r. 1294-1303)

   Boniface's reign was filled with failed policies. He supported the restoration of Sicily to Charles II of Naples, but he was forced to accept its independence under Frederick of Aragon. He also failed in his mediation between Venice and Genoa in effecting Scotland's independence from England, and in securing the Hungarian crown for Charles I Carobert. He tried to end hostilities between France and England over the fiefs of Guienne and Gascony, but his efforts resulted in a major quarrel with Philip IV of France, whom he excommunicated in 1303. The pope was seized by Philip's advisor, Guillaume de Nogaret, the feudal Colonna family of Rome, and a group of mercenaries who expected him to resign, but the Roman populace came to his rescue. Boniface was able to continue his reign until his death thanks to the protection of the Orsini, staunch enemies of the Colonna. Boniface was the patron of Arnolfo di Cambio who designed his tomb in c. 1300. His portrait bust is the only piece of the tomb to have survived and is now housed in the Vatican grotto. Boniface also summoned Giotto to the Vatican to create a fresco (c. 1300), now badly damaged, depicting his addressing the crowds.