Gratifying, however, as were the tributes of admiration and appreciation which came to Agnesi from all quarters, from learned societies, from eminent mathematicians, from sovereigns--the Empress Maria Theresa sent her a splendid diamond ring and a precious crystal casket bejeweled with diamonds--that which touched her most deeply was, undoubtedly, the recognition which she received from the great Maecenas of his age, Pope Benedict XIV. As Cardinal Lambertini and Archbishop of Bologna, he had taken a conspicuous part in the honors showered on Laura Bassi when she received her doctorate, and was specially delighted when she was made professor of physics in his favored university. Being himself familiar with the higher mathematics, he recognized at once the exceptional merit of Maria Gaetana's work and showed his appreciation of it not only by letters and presents, but also by having her, _motu proprio_, appointed by the Bolognese senate as professor of higher mathematics in the University of Bologna. In advising her of this appointment, he writes her that he had in view the honor of the University in which he had always taken a special interest, and that the appointment carried with it no obligation of thanks on her part but rather on his--_che porta seco ch'ella non deve ringraziar Noi, ma che Noi dobbiamo ringraziar lei_. The interest that this wise and broad-minded pontiff exhibited in the advancement of learned women and the rewards he was ever ready to accord to their achievements in science and literature--especially in the cases of Laura Bassi and Maria Gaetana Agnesi--is in keeping with the policy pursued by his predecessors, and accounts in great measure for that large number of learned women in Italy who, since the opening of the first universities, have been the glory of their sex and country. But ardent as was the desire of the Supreme Pontiff to have Agnesi occupy the chair of mathematics, and numerous as were the appeals of her friends and the members of the university faculty to have her accept the appointment that carried with it such signal honor, she could never be induced to leave her beloved Milan. For, after completing her masterpiece, she resolved to retire from the world and devote the rest of her life to the care of the poor, the sick and the helpless in her native city. She did not, however, as is so frequently asserted, enter the convent and become a nun.[119] During many years after her retirement from the world, she lived in her own home, a part of which she had converted into a hospital. During the last fifteen years of her life she had charge of the Pio Albergo Trivulzio--a large institution founded by Prince Trivulzio for the aged poor who were without home or assistance.