The Renaissance Popes

1. The Renaissance Popes And a few other people of interest.

2. Nicholas V (1447-1455) • First Pope to use church funds to further artistic development. • Vatican Library collection.

3. Pius II (1458-1464) • Humanist, one of the better Popes of his generation. • Well educated • Poet laureate to Frederick III

4. Sixtus IV (della Rovere)(1471-1481) • Represented both the best and worst of the Renaissance Popes. • Supported worthy artists who produced some tremendously famous works of art. • Funded creation of the Sistine Chapel • temples, streets, squares, fortifications, bridges • Brought the papacy to its lowest moral tone. • turned to nepotism on a grand scale primarily because of political difficulties in Italy and overseas • Put relatives into all sorts of authoritative positions. • Made six nephews Cardinals, one of whom later became Pope Julius II. • Started a family war against the Medici’s

5. Alexander VI (1492-1503) • History judges him one of the most depraved Popes ever. • While a Cardinal, kept several mistresses in Rome. • Fathered four children including Cesare and Lucretia Borgia. • In 1489, he took the 14-year-old Giulia Farnese as his mistress. • She remained his mistress throughout his papacy bearing him sons in 1498 and 1503. • To placate her family, he gave a Red Hat to Giulia's brother, a man who later became Pope Paul III. • Alexander made Cesare, his illegitimate son, a Cardinal. • Cesare was 18 at the time.

6. Cesare Borgia • Alexander selected Giovanni, his oldest son, to continue the Borgia dynasty but he was murdered in 1497. • Evidence pointed to Cesare. • Cesare then became heir apparent. He resigned his Cardinal's hat so he could legitimately sire a dynasty. • Using French aid to overcome family enemies, Cesare took control of large land holdings in north central Italy.

7. Once turned criminals loose in a Vatican courtyard then shot them from a window. • Inspiration for Machiavelli’s Prince • When his father died in 1503, Cesare lost his position and became a mercenary in Spain where he died in 1507.

8. Ludovico il Moro Sforza(1452-1508) • Patron of Leonardo da Vinci • 1494 Enncouraged the French under Charles VIII to invade Italy. • Backfired on him • Gave his neice up for marriage to Maximillian I of the HRE • Starts the Italian Wars • Fought between the different city-states for over 60 years • Constantly changing alliances

9. Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) • Preached against the days' current evils. His strong preaching warned of impending disaster caused by sin. • Alexander VI tried bribing him with a Cardinal's hat, but Savonarola could not be bought. • In 1495, the Pope ordered him to stop preaching.

10. 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities • Burned books, paintings, excessive earthly materialistic goods • Alexander excommunicated him in May, but Savonarola defied him declaring that Alexander was neither a true pope nor a Christian. • Spring of 1498, he aroused political opposition in Florence and was arrested. • Endured torture 14 times until he confessed to various crimes only to retract his confessions. • Hung under a papal commission's watchful eye.

11. Julius II (1503-1513) • della Rovere returned from a 10 year exile • Opposed simony and promised to punish those guilty of it. • Known as the Warrior Pope, led papal armies into battle. • Paintings and sculptures show him clad in armor. • He also patronized the arts, including Michaelangelo, whom he hired to paint the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. • Julius also laid the cornerstone for the new St. Peter's Basilica.

12. Leo X (1513-1521) • Medici • Preferred the hunting lodge to papal courts • Had little spiritual commitment. • The Protestant Reformation began during his papacy.