[Ganganelli, Lorenzo (Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio)]
(b Santarcangelo di Romagna, Oct 31, 1705; elected May 19, 1769; d Rome, Sept 22, 1774).
Italian pope and patron. He completed his studies in the Romagna and in 1723 entered the Franciscan Order. In 1728 he went to Rome, where he acted as an adviser to Pope Clement XIII from 1746 and became involved in such issues as whether to include the books of Voltaire (1697–1778) on the Index librorum prohibitorum (on which he took a moderate position) and whether to suppress the Society of Jesus. He was made a cardinal in 1759 and received the titles to two churches in Rome: S Lorenzo in Panisperna and, later, SS Apostoli.
As a patron Clement XIV tried to modify the loss to Rome’s heritage represented by the lively trade in antique works of art. He reinforced surveillance on exports and also purchased some of the most precious objects, such as the Mattei and Fusconi collections of Classical sculpture, which he bought in 1770. He was supported in this campaign by Giovanni Battista Visconti and Giovanni Angelo Braschi, the future Pope Pius VI. He played a seminal role in fostering public interest in antique sculpture. To display the finest antiquities in the papal collection he established the ...