Napoleone Orsini

Napoleone Orsini (1263–1342) was a Roman cardinal of the family that had given the Church Pope Nicholas III, his uncle. He took holy orders in 1285, and in 1288 Nicholas IV named him cardinal deacon of Sant'Adriano. As legate to Spoleto and Ancona under Boniface VIII he retook rebellious Gubbio in 1301 and backed the pope's crusades against the Colonna.

In the Avignon years he reconciled with the Colonna and testified at Boniface's posthumous trial. In 1305 Clement V made him archpriest of St Peter's. He took a prominent part in the long conclave of 1314–1316, which elected John XXII after bitter quarrels among the cardinals.

As senior cardinal deacon he crowned Benedict XII in January 1335. Over his 54 years as a cardinal he sat in six conclaves. He died at Avignon in 1342.