Akademik

(Giuliano della Rovere, r. 1503-1513)

   Nephew of Pope Sixtus IV who raised him to the cardinalate upon ascending the throne in 1471. Elected to the papacy in 1503, Julius set out to expand the Papal States by capturing the Romagna, Perugia, and Bologna territories the papacy had once owned. In 1508, he joined the League of Cambrai against Venice, which resulted in the recovery of Rimini and Faenza. His other major political concern was to free Italy from the French. In 1511, he formed the Holy League with Venice, Spain, England, Switzerland, and the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1512, the Swiss defeated the French in Novarra, and Parma, Piacenza, and Reggio Emilia were annexed to the Papal States. The victory was short-lived as Julius died in the following year. The league was dissolved, and the French captured Lombardy. Julius is best remembered for his art patronage. Michelangelo painted the Sistine ceiling (1508-1512) under his papacy and Raphael the Stanza della Segnatura (1510-1511), both at the Vatican. Donato Bramante submitted his design for New St. Peter's under Julius' patronage (1506), and Michelangelo rendered the pope's tomb (1505-1545) originally intended for St. Peter's, but eventually placed in the pope's titular Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.