Pope Pius III (; 9 May 1439 – 18 October 1503), born Francesco Todeschini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 September 1503 to his death. At just twenty-six days, he had one of the shortest pontificates in papal history. Francesco was the nephew of Pope Pius II, who granted him the use of the family name "Piccolomini", and appointed the twenty-one-year old Francesco as Archbishop of Siena. He served as papal legate in a number of places. In 1503, the now-frail Cardinal Piccolomini was elected pope as a compromise candidate between the Borgia and della Rovere factions. Although he announced plans for reforms, he died less than a month later. Life Early life Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, a member of the House of Piccolomini was born in Sarteano on 9 May 1439, as the fourth child of Nanno Todeschini and Laudomia Piccolomini, the sister of Enea Silvio Bartolomeo (Aeneas Silvius) Piccolomini who was Pope Pius II. He had three brothers, Antonio, Giacomo and Andrea. His eldest brother Antonio was made Duke of Amalfi during the pontificate of Pius II. He married Maria, the daughter of King Ferdinando of Naples. Francesco was received as a boy into the household of Aeneas Silvius who permitted him to assume the name and arms of the Piccolomini family. He studied Canon Law at the university of Perugia, and obtained a doctorate after the completion of his studies. Cardinalate In 1457, Todeschini-Piccolomini was granted the office of Provost of the Collegiate Church of Sankt Viktor in Xanten, which had been a benefice of his uncle. He held the benefice from 1457 to 1466, and again from 1476 to 1495. Cardinal Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini was elected pope on 19 August 1458. In the excited tumult following the announcement, the Roman mob sacked his house, which was located near the church of S. Agostino and the north end of the Piazza Navona; even the marble stones were taken. When the Piccolomini family arrived in Rome, therefore, they had no palazzo of their own to use as their base of operations. Francesco moved into the Vatican Palace with his uncle. Pius II was aware that this was a temporary situation; he remarked in a letter to his nephew Antonio that "One is not the nephew of a pope forever (non-semper pontificis nepos). In 1461, the Pope authorized Cardinal Francesco to purchase