Early modern period
In the early modern period, the Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor the first of which was Otto I. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. Despite its name, for much of its history the Empire did not include Rome within its borders.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bologna
A detailed list of the various governments that have ruled Bologna is provided by Giovanni Battista Guidicini. In 1527, the Holy See became the absolute ruler of Bologna, and was represented by a "Legatus a latere" and a Vice-Legate. On 22 February 1530, Pope Clement VII crowned the Emperor Charles V as Holy Roman Empire, the last such event in history.