September 1590 papal conclave

The September 1590 papal conclave, attended by 54 cardinals, elected Cardinal Giovanni Battista Castagna as Pope Urban VII.^[1][2]

Papal conclave September 1590
Dates and location
7–15 September 1590[1] Apostolic Palace, Papal States
Key officials
Dean	Giovanni Antonio Serbelloni
Sub-dean	Alfonso Gesualdo
Camerlengo	Enrico Caetani
Protopriest	Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps
Protodeacon	Andreas von Österreich
Elected pope
Giovanni Battista Castagna Name taken: Urban VII
← 1585 October–December 1590 →

The conclave lasted a week, and was heavily swayed by the influence of the twenty-two Spanish cardinals.^[3][4][2] Castagna, who had been favored by Sixtus V as a successor and was on the list of candidates whom Philip II of Spain had approved, was a favorite from the beginning,^[1][2][5] although a significant opposing faction supported Marco Antonio Colonna.^[1][6] Castagna's poor health, which would ultimately kill him after a papacy of only thirteen days, made him a more palatable candidate to cardinals who were outraged at Philip's attempts to sway the election.^[2]

Contemporary newspapers reported that a disagreement between Cardinals Ascanio Colonna and Francesco Sforza di Santa Fiora during the conclave nearly became violent.^[7]

Diagram of the cardinals' cubicles at the 1590 papal conclave.