Editing Pope Pius II (section)

===Congress at Mantua===
After allying himself with [[Ferdinand_I_of_Naples|Ferdinand]] (Ferrante), the [[Aragon]]ese claimant to the throne of Naples, in opposition to the French House of Anjou,<ref>Ferrante's natural daughter was to marry Pius' nephew Antonio. Pastor, pp. 20, 27-28. Creighton (1902), [https://books.google.com/books?id=IlJLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA87 ''Historical Essays and Reviews''], pp. 87-88.</ref> his next important act was to convene a congress of the representatives of Christian princes at [[Mantua]] for joint action against the [[Ottoman Turks|Turks]]. In anticipation of his departure for Mantua, Pius issued the bull "Cum Concedente Deo"  on 5 January 1459, in which he considered the possibility of the pope dying outside Rome; he ordered that the conclave to elect his successor should take place only in Rome, contrary to previous practice.<ref>Pastor III, p. 29. Cesare Baronio, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=d1dAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA178 Annales ecclesiastici]: A. D. 1-1571 denuo excusi et ad nostra usque tempora perducti ab Augustino Theiner,'' {{in lang|la}}, Volume 29 (Bar-le-Duc: Typis et sumptibus Ludovici Guerin, 1876), pp. 178-179, no. 1.</ref> On 11 January 1459 Pope Pius appointed Cardinal [[Nicholas of Cusa]] Vicar-General of the city of Rome and of the Patrimony of S. Peter; and on 15 January he named Bishop Galeazzo Cavrini of Mantua his Governor of Rome.<ref>Pastor III, p. 30.</ref> He finally set out for the north on 22 January.<ref>Pastor, p. 47.</ref>

While at Mantua, he undertook to mediate in the dispute between [[Sigismund, Archduke of Austria|Sigismund of Austria]] and Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa over the bishopric of Brixen, which had been given Nicholas by [[Pope Nicholas V]] in 1450, without the consent of the emperor, the count of Tyrol (Sigismund), or the cathedral chapter of Brixen. A public reconciliation was arranged, but no resolution of the basic problem was achieved, but rather postponed to a Diet to be held at Trent two years in the future. Sigismund, who had not been friendly toward the papacy for some years, left Mantua on 29 November 1459, even more irritated than before. Pius' efforts had failed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA393}}, pp. 393-396.</ref> Both returned to the north, and in April 1460 trouble broke out again. Cusa, who was at Bruneck and engaged in negotiations with Sigismund, was surrounded, captured by the archduke, and forced to agree to Sigismund's demands. Cusa appealed to Pius II. A restrained Pius only summoned Sigismund to appear before him and explain his conduct, but Sigismund appealed to a future council in a statement handed the pope by his proctor on 4 August 1460. On 8 August, Sigismund was excommunicated and his domains were placed under the interdict.<ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton | title= A History of the Papacy during the period of the Reformation| date= 21 March 1882|volume= II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfdJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA412}}, pp. 412-413.</ref>

On 26 September 1459, he called for a new crusade against the Ottomans, and on 14 January 1460, he proclaimed the official crusade that was to last for three years. The pope influenced [[Vlad III Dracula]], whom he held in high regard, to start a war against Sultan [[Mehmed II]] of [[Turkey]].<ref>Raymond T. McNally, Radu R Florescu, ''Dracula: Prince of many faces – His life and his times'' (Boston: Little Brown 1989; New York: Hachette+ORM, 2009), p. 129.</ref> This conflict at its peak involved the [[Wallachia]]ns trying to assassinate the Sultan (see [[The Night Attack]]).

After his departure from Mantua on 19 January 1460, Pius II reached his former bishopric of Siena on 30 January,<ref>Eubel II, p. 32, nos. 198, 199.</ref> where, exhausted by his exertions at Mantua, he was advised by his doctors to rest, either in the city or at the Petriolo hot springs.<ref>Pastor III, pp. 99-100, 396.</ref> There he was joined by his recent host in Mantua, [[Ludovico III of Gonzaga|Ludovico Gonzaga]]. Pius described his delight with country life in very pleasing language.<ref>Passages such as those and others where he marvels at landscapes and other natural beauties, or stories about his dog Musetta, were to be expurged from the first edition of his Commentaries, published in 1584, as embarrassingly unfitting, coming from the pen of a pope. ''Mémoires d'un Pape de la Renaissance. Les Commentarii de Pie II'', p. 8.</ref>