Home
 Renaissance Pope Issue Pope Julius II Scott 1539 (2013) As we look at the history of Western Civilization, there are some individuals I identify as "Prime Movers." These were people, both good and bad, that have made a profound impact on our lives today and many years into the future. One such individual was Pope Julius 11 who reigned from 1503 to 1513. While Pope for only ten years, he made a considerable impact on world history that even affects us today. in our discussion, we look at him first as an individual and then his accomplishments. Julius the Man The man who would be Pope Julius II was born near Savona, Italy in 1443 and baptized Giuliano Della Rovere. His father was a fisherman, and the family was very poor. He followed his uncle into the Franciscan Order. His uncle became pope in 1471 as Sixtus IV. Through the influence of his uncle, Julius quickly became a cardinal at the age of 24, a few months after his uncle became pope. Finally, in 1503 (after two previous attempts to be elected pope) Julius was elected pope, taking the name "Julius II" after Julius Caesar because he wanted to restore Rome to its former glory and as well as the center of Christian Civilization. Upon election as Pope, Julius completely changed his life (since his private life as a Cardinal was far from being holy). He knew that at age 60, which was considered old in that time, he had only a few years to accomplish his goals, which were: As it turned out, he accomplished this, and more, in only ten years! Building a New St. Peter's Basilica Julius was built like a bull. His tendency was to charge like a bull, trampling impediments and opponents alike. He never retreated except to regroup, to gain time and to disarm his enemies. He charmed, he finessed and he even managed an occasional moment of humility, if it assured that his will would prevail. But he was never deterred in achieving his goals. In short, his goals were greatness for the Papacy, for the Church, and for the city of Rome. He expected it of himself, and he tolerated nothing less from others. He was known as the "dreadful" or "terrifying" pope, as his violent rages in which he treated underlings, including cardinals, with his stick were legendary. Yes, he used his stick to enforce his will! Some examples include: As you can see, the historians of his time gave very little credit for his accomplishments. It reminds me of the quote by Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "the evil that men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones." Rome at the Time of Julius When Julius became Pope, Rome no longer resembled its ancient glory. Monuments and churches were crumbling, roads in ruins, and there was no clean water or sanitation. Because of a lack of water, people abandoned the outer parts of the city and settled in neighborhoods close to the Tiber. The cramped neighborhoods were rimmed with watchtowers that guarded the strongholds of powerful families. There was no central government. The families often fought amongst themselves and hired gangs to protect their territory. The families made a lot of money from the collection of tolls to cross bridges or to pass in and out of sanctioned areas. By the early 1500s, gang warfare had escalated to such a degree that no one was safe in the streets. Rome had more in common with the current post-war Bagdad than it did with prosperous Florence, Milan or Venice at the time. There were vast no-go areas in the city made dangerous by the rival gangs. Urination in the streets was so common that people painted holy pictures on buildings to prevent urination on the walls. The stench of refuse fouled the narrow streets. The city had shrunk to 1/10th the size of Imperial Rome. Disease was rampant. It was so unsafe to live in Rome that several popes before Julius fled to Avignon, France. Thus, creating an undue influence of the French King over the papacy and Italy. Rome at that time reminds me of my impression of Cairo, Egypt a few years ago as I walked its streets. I wondered to myself, after seeing the slums and chaos of Cairo, are these the same people who ruled such a vast empire and built those great pyramids? Surly, looking at Rome upon Julius' arrival would bring similar thoughts. An Empire gone with the wind! Julius was also mindful of the dying words of Pope Nicholas V (who died a few years before) who envisioned a rebirth of Rome. As he lay dying, he told his Cardinals "A popular faith, sustained only on doctrine, will never be anything but feeble and vacillating. But if the authority of the Holy See were visibly displayed in a grand edifice the faith will continue. Nicholas's vision remained on paper until Julius made it a reality. Rebuilding Rome Pope Nicholas V At first, Julius had to get control of the City of Rome itself by overcoming the power of the Maffia-like families such as the Borgia, Orsini, and Colonna who had dominated Roman politics for many years. By a series of complicated strategies, he would divide and concur these families by aligning himself with one or more families against the others and reverse. This practice would later make him an expert in using the same tactics against Venice and France in his quest of obtaining control of Italy. Not trusting Italian soldiers to provide security because of fearing attempted assassination from Roman families, Julius established the Swiss Guard in 1506 to provide his own personal protection. This was similar to the Pretorian Guard that protected the Roman Emperors. Julius immediately began a massive building program throughout Rome by constructing a number of impressive buildings, and monuments, widening and paving streets, replacing/repairing ancient sewers, and building a new aqueduct to bring fresh water into the city. But, his masterpiece was the building of a new St. Peter's Basilica. The building of a new St. Peters was almost an impossible task. The old St. Peters, built by Emperor Constantine in 326 AD (1200 yrs earlier) was falling apart. People attending services would often be injured by pieces of roofing falling on them. With the decline of Rome, the structure was not kept in repair and was slowly collapsing. However, destroying Constantine's Basilica - a hallowed site of Christian martyrs was considered by many Christians, and especially the Church hierarchy, as desecration. Julius resolved to build a new St. Peters Basilica as the centerpiece of Christianity more magnificent than any other building in Rome. Thus, fulfilling the dream of Pope Nicholas V. Julius, with his determination, quickly overcame the objections of many to save the old church and ordered it to be torn down. Now, Julius faced additional hurdles: Who would be the architect? Many notable architects of the time expressed interest - but, Julius saw in Donato Bramante a person who could accomplish his miracle in stone. Bramante was an outsider with no great accomplishments and was considered an old man to undertake such a huge task. Choosing Bramante stunned the art world. There again, as we will see again later in the painting of the Sistine Chapel, Julius had a knack for selecting the right person over the consternation of bishops and cardinals. After all, he was in charge and the hierarchy knew it! Another problem. How can Julius assure that such a monumental structure will be built according to his plans. The Basilica would be 730 ft long, 163,000 sq. ft., and the dome 452 ft. high making it one of the largest buildings in the world. After all it will take about 2,500 men full time over many years with considerable cost. It would be completed long after his death. Other popes may not have the funds or ambition to complete such a massive structure. Thus, they may considerably scale it down. To counter this likely possibility, Julius and Bramante devised a construction scheme to first build the crossing arches and dome-diameter - building from the center out. Thus, ensuring that the monumental scale could not be diminished no matter who succeeded him. The remainder of St. Peters built by future pontiffs had to fit within the scale of the crossing arches and dome. Julius laid the cornerstone of the gigantic Basilica of St. Peters on April 18, 1506. It took 161 years and 30 popes to complete it finally in 1667. The Sistine Chapel We all remember the famous film "The Agony and the Ecstasy" with Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison. The film correctly portrayed Julius as a tyrannical individual who was pressed for time to get things done in a grand style. Again, like the selection of Bramante, Julius, over the objections of his bishops and cardinals, selected Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. The prelates argued that Michelangelo was a sculptor and had very little painting experience. One of the bishops made a discouraging remark about Michelangelo as a painter which quickly brought about Julius' rage. The bishop was severely reprimanded by the Pontiff with his stick and kicked out of the room with Julius roaring "get out of my sight and go to the devil." Nobody would disagree with Julius. Michelangelo worked on the painting of the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512. Since he was not a painter, but a sculptor, he was reluctant to take on the work. Also, he was occupied by a large sculptural commission for the Pope's tomb. But, Julius was adamant, leaving Michelangelo no choice but to accept. The Pope, recognizing Michelangelo's grand scheme of portraying scenes from the Bible, permitted him to do as he liked. Over 300 biblical figures are portrayed in scenes that took Michelangelo four years to paint. Michelangelo read and reread the Old Testament while he was painting the ceiling, drawing his inspiration from the words of scripture. Michelangelo designed his own scaffold, a flat platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall near the top of the windows, rather than being built from the floor which would have involved a massive structure and would have meant that the chapel was unavailable for services. (The holes were reused to hold scaffolding in the ceilings 1999 restoration!). Michelangelo's work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions from a standing position with his head tilted upwards. The painting technique employed was "fresco", in which the paint is applied to damp plaster whereby paint and bits of wet plaster would constantly drip on Michelangelo during painting. Because of working so close, his eyes took many months to adjust for distance viewing after he completed the project. He almost went blind. Finally completed in 1512, the ceiling was recognized as one of the greatest works of art of the Renaissance. Unification of Italy with Rome as its center Once the City of Rome was secured under his authority, Julius set himself to conquer the remainder of Italy. Shortly after becoming Pope, he met with his cardinals and told them: "We are going to war! I am leading the army and you are following me into battle!" The cardinals hearing this thought Julius was crazy - but he was not! From 1504-10 thru a series of "Holy Leagues", he took control of Southern Italy from the Republic of Venice. Venice had become one of the most powerful city-states with a huge army and navy. To defeat Venice, Julius formed a "Holy League" with France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Emperor. The conquering of Venice was very tricky since he wanted Venice to retain sufficient strength of its Navy after its defeat to still hold back the Turks. They were considering invading Venice and using it as a stepping stone to conquer Europe. In 1510 Julius negotiated Peace with the Venetians whereby they recognized his authority while still retaining their powerful navy to hold back the Turks. After the settlement with Venice, now it was France's turn to succumb to Julius' onslaught. Like Venice, Louis XII of France had a powerful hand in the control of Italy with its armies occupying Northern Italy. To accomplish this, Julius formed a new "Holy League" in 1510 with Venice, Spain, and England and the Holly Roman Emperor, the Swiss army against France. In 1512 France was finally driven from Italy after being severely defeated at the battle of Ravenna. Louis XII even tried, to no avail, to dispose of Julius and elect a French pope. Even the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian had thoughts of himself becoming Pope and Holy Roman Emperor at the same time. Thru all this, Julius still prevailed and freed Italy from the control of France. In conclusion, Julius was a leader of armies, and the fame attached to his name as "The Warrior Pope" let to his re-establishment of the Pontifical States and the deliverance of Italy from the control of France. His efforts to unify Italy were finally completed many years later under Garibaldi in the 1870s. Also, he did not forget his duties as the spiritual head of the Church. He heard Mass almost daily, issued strict laws (Bulls) reforming the Church, and erected dioceses in the newly discovered American colonies. He was a major patron of the arts. Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo gave the world some of their greatest masterpieces while in their service. With his strong resolve, he restored the Papacy, the splendor of Rome, and became a leading figure in the Renaissance. References: Original Article: Charles J. Schaefer, Vatican Notes, Volume 58, Number 346, pp. 11-14, 2010, Julius II: The Warrior Pope The following material was researched during the preparation of this presentation: |
