Cardinal Lamberto left Rome with a large sum of money and several documents. Fearing that their corruption will be exposed, Keinszig, Lucchesi, and Gilday plot to murder the Pope. Gilday poisons the pontiff's tea, killing him in his sleep. The character of Lamberto and the film's depiction of the events which led to his murder are based upon one of the conspiracy theories surrounding the sudden death of the real-life Pope John Paul I, Albino Luciani. Like the Lamberto character, Luciani was discovered dead in his bed in 1978, 33 days after his election to the papacy. Various theories, such as the
Ostrogothic Papacy one of the first things Justinian had done as soon as his armies got a foothold in Italy." Long before he had completed his victory over the Ostrogoths, Justinian I had his commander Belisarius depose the pro-Gothic Pope Silverius (536–537), and install Pope Vigilius (537–555), the former papal "apocrisiarius" to Constantinople, in his place. Silverius died and Vigilius was ordained in 537, while the Goths rallied and laid siege to Rome. In 542, King Totila recaptured Rome and by the time Justinian's new general Narses recaptured the city in 552, Vigilius was no longer in Rome. Ostrogothic Papacy The Ostrogothic