Pope Nicholas III

Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, eldest son of the Roman noble Matteo Rosso Orsini, was made cardinal deacon by Innocent IV in 1244. He served under eight popes, becoming protector of the Franciscans.

In November 1277 he was elected pope after a six-month vacancy, taking the name Nicholas III. In 1278 Rudolf of Habsburg recognized papal sovereignty over Romagna, the March of Ancona and Spoleto, and a new constitution ended Charles of Anjou's hold on the Roman senatorship.

In 1279 he issued Exiit qui seminat to settle the Franciscan poverty dispute. He was the first pope to reside permanently at the Vatican, and died of apoplexy on 22 August 1280.