Pius III, the Pope from Sarteano
Francesco (born in Sarteano, May 29, 1439) was the fourth son of Giovanni Tedeschini and Laudomia Piccolomini, and a nephew of Enea Silvio (Pius II), who granted them the prestigious name of their mother. Thanks to his uncle’s support, after studying in Perugia, Francesco became an apostolic protonotary and, at just 22 years old, the administrator of the newly established Archdiocese of Siena. By February 1459, he was already an archbishop, though not yet ordained as a bishop. For years, he served as protector of the kingdoms of England and Germany.
Created Cardinal Deacon in the consistory held in Siena on March 5, 1460, Francesco arrived in the city only on March 21 to receive the cardinal’s biretta. On March 26, 1460, he was assigned the titular deaconry of Sant’Eustachio and appointed papal legate for the Marche region. After various missions in Rome, he became archdeacon of Bramante at Cambrai Cathedral, a position he held from 1462 to 1503.
When Pius II traveled to Ancona on June 18, 1464, he appointed Francesco as his personal legate in Rome and the Papal States. On December 24, 1468, Francesco welcomed Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg at Rome’s gates. On February 18, 1471, he was appointed legate in Germany, arriving in Regensburg on March 18 to participate in the local diet.
In August 1471, Pope Sixtus IV appointed him protodeacon. In this capacity, he announced the election of Innocent VIII after the 1484 conclave and crowned him as pope. Francesco was named administrator of the See of Fermo on February 21, 1485, resigning from the role on May 26, 1494, in favor of Agostino Piccolomini, only to resume the position upon Agostino’s death in 1496. On November 5, 1488, Francesco served as papal legate in Perugia. In 1492, he crowned Alexander VI, who later appointed him as legate to King Charles VIII of France in 1493.
Between 1495 and 1498, he served as administrator of the dioceses of Pienza and Montalcino. In August 1497, he became part of a commission tasked with drafting a papal bull for Church reform, which was later signed by the pope. In February 1501, he joined a three-cardinal commission responsible for funding a new crusade, which was ultimately never realized.
On September 30, 1503, Francesco was ordained a priest, and on October 1, he was consecrated as Bishop of Rome. On October 8, 1503, he was crowned pope on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica. During his brief pontificate, he founded the Piccolomini Library in Siena Cathedral in memory of his uncle, Pius II, commissioning Pinturicchio to decorate its interiors.
Pius III’s papacy lasted only twenty-six days. He died of a leg ulcer or, as some claim, poisoning allegedly instigated by Pandolfo Petrucci, the governor of Siena.
