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Pope Urban VII (Latin: Urbanus VII), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was Pope from 15 to 27 September 1590. His twelve-day papacy was the shortest in history.
After the death of Pope Sixtus V a conclave was convoked to elect a successor. Castagna was elected as pope on 15 September 1590 and his election was brought about due to the backing of the Spanish factions. He selected the pontifical name of "Urban VII".
Urban VII's short passage in office gave rise to the world's first known public smoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".
Urban VII died on 27 September 1590, shortly before midnight, of malaria in Rome. He was buried in the Vatican. | 
