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Fabio Chigi (served as Pope Alexander VII 1655-1667) was born in 1599 into the illustrious Chigi banking family of Siena, a city in Tuscany, Italy. He studied philosophy, law, and theology at the University in Siena and entered papal diplomatic service in 1628. Alexander VII was elected after an 80-day conclave. His pontificate was eventually clouded by the demands of family nepotism. His diplomacy encountered difficult relations with France (administered by Cardinal Mazarin and Louis XIV) as well as Spain. He also contended with the rise of Jansenism (an early modern theological movement within Catholicism that arose in an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace.) Alexander supported Jesuit missionaries in China by use of Chinese instead of Latin in liturgical rites. A deeply spiritual person, he meditated on the teachings of Francis de Sales. He beatified and canonized Francis de Sales in 1665. Historian J. N. D. Kelly observed. "[Alexander] delighted in the company of scholars and writers, enriched Rome university and the Vatican library, and was a splendid patron of art." He commissioned Bernini to enclose St. Peter's Square with the colonnade. Francesco Borromini was the architectural rival of Dian Lorenzo Bernini. Borromini was a native of Tinico, an Italian speaking region of Switzerland. Born in 1599 (the same year as Alexander VII), both Bernini and Barromini contributed to the Baroque character of 17th century Rome. He was often melancholy and displayed an erratic temper. Borromini was frustrated by Bernini's success. He died by suicide, perhaps due to frustrations over completion of his last project for Pope Innocent X, Alexander VII's predecessor. Among Borromini's Roman architectural works are the church, cloister, and monastic buildings of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (San Carlino), Oratory of Saint Phillip Neri, Sant' Ivo alla Sapienza, Sant' Agnese in Agone, the Re Magi Chapel of the Propaganda Fide, and the interior of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterno. Both Pope Alexander VIII and Francesco Borromini died in 1667. The 350th anniversaries of their deaths of are commemorated on two stamps designed by Milan artist Mateo Ventura. Marco Ventura's designs for the €0,95 stamp depict Pope Alexander VII, and his papal arms in front of a portion of Bernni's colonnade. Francesco Borromini's €1,00 stamp depicts the architect, the dome of St. Ivo alla Sapienza and a drawing of its interior. The stamps were issued in sheets of ten. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1642 - 1643 Date Issued - 10 February 2017 Face Value - €0,95, €1,00 Perforations - 13.66x13.77 Printing Process - Offset Printer - Printex (Malta) Max Printed - 150,000 |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 65 Issue: 372 Page: 4-6) |
