Biography

Pius VI, original name Giannangelo Braschi, (born December 25, 1717, Cesena, Papal States—died August 29, 1799, Valence, France), Italian pope (1775–99) whose tragic pontificate was the longest of the 18th century. Pius was on good terms with the allies against France in 1793 and felt that he could rely on them, but in 1796 his territory was invaded after the last Austrian defeat by Napoleon, who forced the pope to sign a peace treaty at Tolentino on February 19, 1797. A riot in Rome in the following December led to French occupation of that city on February 15, 1798, and the proclamation of a republic by a group of Italian patriots. Aged and frail, he was seized by the French in March 1799 and died a prisoner in France the following August.