Editing Pope Alexander VII (section)

=== Nepotism ===
The conclave believed he was strongly opposed to the [[nepotism]] that had been a feature of previous popes. In the first year of his reign, Alexander VII lived simply and forbade his relatives even to visit Rome, but in the [[papal consistory|consistory]] of 24 April 1656, Pope Alexander announced that his brother and nephews would be coming to assist him in Rome. His nephew, Cardinal [[Flavio Chigi (1631–1693)|Flavio Chigi]] assumed the position of [[cardinal-nephew]]. The administration was given largely into the hands of his relatives,<ref>{{Catholic|no-icon=1| prescript=| wstitle=Pope Alexander VII}}</ref> and nepotism became entrenched as it had been in the Baroque Papacy. Cardinal Flavio began work on the Villa Chigi-Versaglia at Formello in 1664.<ref>Oliva Muratore, "Formello, Villa Versaglia," ''Methodical Approach to the Restoration of Historic Architecture'' (ed. Calogero Bellanca) (Firenze: Alinea Editrice, 2011), pp. 123–135.</ref>

When announcing to the cardinals in 1656 that he would summon his relatives to Rome, the pontiff asked that each cardinal provide his opinion on his suggestion. The cardinals agreed, but attached several conditions to ensure that nepotism did not run too rampant. The pope eventually received his relatives in an audience, however, the meeting was formal and his relatives were required to kneel for the entirety of the audience as the pope informed them of why they had been summoned and what was expected of them.<ref name=UC/>