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Baldassare Cossa, son of Naples but resident of Bologna, rose through the clerical ranks during the last quarter of the fourteenth century. Born into the nobility, he was named Archbishop of Bologna by the Roman Pope Boniface IX in 1396 and, six years later, became Cardinal. He actively campaigned against the pontificate of Gregory XII in 1409 when the new pope refused to abdicate after his election during the schism that foisted no fewer than three pontiffs on Western Christendom. Within months, Cossa himself was elected pope and presided over a Papal See that included the dominions of France, England, Bohemia, Prussia, Portugal, sections of Germany, and both Florence and Venice. But this represented only half of the European community, and this created immediate problems for him.
Cossa was forced to flee his palace in Rome when Ladislaus of Naples – champion of Gregory XII – invaded the city in 1413. Seeking safe haven, he made his way to Florence, most probably to consolidate power in the city of Giovanni di Bicci de’Medici – his banker – and a number of local dignitaries, who shielded Cossa from his enemies for a brief period.
His papacy did not last long. Johnn XXIII was deposed officially on May 29, 1415 when Odo Colonna was appointed the sole supreme pontiff at the Council of Basel. After a lengthy period of negotiations, led primarily by Giovanni de’Medici, John finally submitted to the new authority on the condition that he retain his former title of Cardinal. In 1419 he was living in the home of Antonio di Santi Chiarucci, next door to the church of S. Maria Maggiore and only two short blocks from the Baptistery and cathedral of Florence. However, the strain of his circumstances took a heavy toll on the otherwise remarkably healthy Cossa, and he died on Dec. 22, 1419 at the age of sixty.
The death of a pope, legitimate or otherwise, was no small matter in the early fifteenth century, and the Florentine commune responded in astonishing ways. The funeral for Cossa lasted for days, with the Signoria and its advisory councils attending services that included processions, extraordinary masses, and mourners from all walks of life. Said Giovanni de’Medici, “…such great honor has been done him by the Signoria here that no greater could be done to any Lord.” Despite the protestations of Martin V, who distrusted Cossa as a rival and potential threat to his reign, the Florentines began the process of commemorating the Antipope John XXIII with all the pomp and circumstances normally reserved only for a pontiff.