mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
foot. When Olimpia first arrived at the Piazza Navona after her wedding,
she swept through the rooms and joyfully exclaimed that all the
lovely furniture was hers, including the room where Gianbattista had
stacked his furniture to get it out of the bride’s way. He had bought
some fine pieces with his salary as a canon lawyer or had received them
as gifts from Uncle Girolamo.
Evidently, in a moment of weakness Gianbattista, reluctant to anger
his brother and frightened by his imperious new sister-in-law, told her
she could have it. But he soon regretted it and put his position in writing.
He had not given Olimpia the furnishings, he explained to Pamphilio,
“but I placed them in the last room of the Piazza Navona house
before Signora Olimpia came to Rome, along with my other things, to
empty the rooms for the occasion, and if Signora Olimpia says that I
gave them to her, I imagine that I only could have said so out of fear or
persuasion of Signor Pamphilio. But I insist that it be returned to me at
all costs.” 7 It is not known exactly how the issue was resolved, but events
proved it was patched up with no hard feelings.
Gianbattista had been the favorite of the late Cardinal Girolamo,
who had recognized his diligence and intelligence while he was still a
child. Girolamo encouraged him to study canon law at the finest
school in Rome, the Jesuit Collegio Romano. At the age of twenty,
Gianbattista received his doctorate in law. Though he took holy orders
in 1597, he did not seem to have an inclination for the ecclesiastical life.
Like most young noblemen of his time—lay or religious—he excelled
in dueling, drinking, and womanizing, which earned him the nickname
“Monsieur Pastime.” The ambassador of Venice reported, “He
had little capacity for such [scholarly] tasks and applied himself slowly to
studies, passing his youth more in the pastimes of a cavalier than in
learning the law. Despite his uncle’s assiduous efforts, he could not
make him forget his nocturnal pleasures.” 8
Uncle Girolamo was particularly concerned about Gianbattista’s
gaudy Spanish hairstyle—long frizzed ringlets—and his refusal to
wear church robes. He implored his Vatican friends to persuade his
nephew to adopt a more serious look, suitable for a priest and lawyer.
Their persuasions had an effect; one summer when Girolamo was
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