1 Grosso - Clement XII IMPLETI ILLVSIONIBVS

Clement XII — born Lorenzo Corsini at 78 years old upon his election in 1730 — spent most of his pontificate blind and bedridden, governing through a tight circle of nephews and cardinals. The administrative machinery of the Papal States ran largely without him by 1739, yet coinage continued to be issued in his name with full ceremonial regularity. His reign is better remembered for the construction of the Trevi Fountain and the first papal condemnation of Freemasonry, issued in 1738 — just one year before this piece was struck.