Editing Pope Urban VII (section)

===Election===
{{main|September 1590 papal conclave}}
After the death of [[Pope Sixtus V]], a [[Papal conclave|conclave]] was convoked to elect a successor. [[Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]] had been appointed a cardinal at the age of fourteen but was never ordained to the priesthood. At the age of thirty-eight, he resigned from the cardinalate upon the death of his older brother, [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco]] in 1587, to succeed to the title. There were suspicions that Francesco and his wife died of arsenic poisoning after having dined at Ferdinando's [[Villa Medici]], although one story has Ferdinando as the intended target of his sister-in-law. Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to free [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]] from Spanish domination. 

He was consequently opposed to the election of any candidate supported by Spain. He persuaded Cardinal [[Alessandro Peretti di Montalto]], grand-nephew of Sixtus V, to switch his support from Cardinal [[Marco Antonio Colonna (16th-century cardinal)|Marco Antonio Colonna]], which brought the support of the younger cardinals appointed by the late Sixtus.<ref name=Pirie>Pirie, Valérie Pirie. ''The Triple Crown: An Account of the Papal Conclaves'', London. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1935.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

Castagna, a seasoned diplomat of moderation and proven rectitude, was elected as pope on 15 September 1590 and selected the pontifical name of "Urban VII".<ref name=Pirie/>