Election of Pope Urban III (1185)

Timeline

1. 1185Verona · VenetoPope Lucius III died at Verona, ending a four-year papal reign. On the day of his death the College of Cardinals immediately began electing a successor, showing the urgency of maintaining Curia operations in a city on the imperial frontier.
2. 1185Verona · VenetoThe College of Cardinals elected Umberto Crivelli, Archbishop of Milan, as the new pope, taking the name Urban III. He had long served as bishop of Milan, with close ties to the city communes of northern Italy and Lombard politics, and his election was promoted by Italian church interests.
3. 1185–1187Northern Italy · ItalyAfter his accession, Urban III adopted a harder line toward the empire, supporting northern Italian cities against Frederick I and paying attention to the situation in the Kingdom of Sicily. Though his papal reign was short, it marked the Curia's shift from the détente after the Peace of Constance to a new round of church-state conflict, until his death at Ferrara in 1187.