Julius II
Name: Pope Julius II
Nickname/Alias: born: Giuliano Della Rovere
Achievements: Arranged for the painting of the Sistine Chapel and the building of the new St. Peter's
Born: December 15, c. 1445; Albisola, Genoa, Italy
Died: February 21, 1513; Rome, Italy (Aged 70)
Field & Discipline: Religion; Pope
Language: Italian
Father: Rafaello della Rovere
Mother: Theodora Manerola
Siblings: Giovanni; Luchina
Spouse: None
Children: At least one illegitimate child: daughter, Felice
Education: Franciscan Friary, Perugia
Life & Times:
As a boy, Julius was earmarked for an ecclesiastical career and took holy orders at Perugia. When his uncle became Pope Sixtus, he was made Cardinal. In 1474 he was sent as head of the Papal forces to settle the fighting between factions in the Papal State of Umbria.
In 1476, he led a Papal legation to Avignon, France, where he showed himself an able diplomat, conducting the delicate negotiations between the French king, and [negotiator with] Charles the Bold* of Burgundy, and the Vatican. In the final years of Pope Sixtus' pontificate, Julius was given the bishoprics of Bologna and Ostia.
Sixtus was succeeded by Innocent VIII in 1484, and at first, Julius had a dominant position in the Papal court but within two years his influence had declined. Innocent was succeeded in 1492 by Rodrigo Borgia, Pope [fled from] Alexander VI*, who hated Julius and ordered him captured.
Julius spent most of the next 10 years in self-imposed exile. Within a month of Alexander's death in 1502 Julius was back in Rome, vying for the papacy. He missed out, but the compromise candidate, Pope Pius III, died a few weeks later and in October, 1503, Julius became Pope Julius II.
Julius set himself the task restoring the secular and spiritual authority of the Papacy. He felt the dignity of the Vatican had been besmirched by the scandalous and corrupt behavior of the Borgia regime.
He first had to deal with Cesare [deported] Borgia*, Alexander VI's natural son. During his father's reign as Pope Alexander VI, Cesare had rampaged through central Italy, and created a state of his own. Although he had lost much of his territory, and had no more financial backing, Julius considered Cesare still dangerous.
His reputation was so fearsome he could command obedience from weaker states and had the support of a powerful group of Spanish cardinals in the Vatican. Ruling out assassination, Julius played a waiting game. He was rewarded when the Spanish turned against Cesare, and deported him to Spain in 1504.
To bring about the spiritual regeneration of the Papacy and to restore the glory of Rome, Julius decided to increase Papal property and gather around him objects of beauty. He became a great patron of the arts, and with the almost limitless funds of the Vatican he was able to hire the greatest artists in the land.
Before he became Pope he had already built three palaces, restored two ancient basilicas, amassed a collection of antique sculptures, and, as a memorial to Sixtus, had commissioned a bronze tomb for St. Peter's by sculptor Antonio Pollaiuolo.
In his first year of office, Julius decided a new basilica must be built for St. Peter's and hired architect [employed] Bramante* to design it. Work began in 1506. Bramante also designed other huge buildings for the Vatican complex, all in the classical antique style which for Julius was a symbol of the epitome of power. Bramante designed a "Belvedere" complex that would be 80 feet high, 1,000 feet long, and would include a new imperial palace and villa, sculpture court, theater, garden, fountains, nymphaeum and porticoed walkways.
In 1506, Julius began a friendship with [a pal of] Michelangelo* and two years later the artist began to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Of the five powers which traditionally dominated Italy (Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence, the Papacy) only Venice and the Vatican had true independence. The other powers were under the influence or control of France or the Holy Roman Empire.
To strengthen Papal authority within Italy, Julius cracked down on the Baglioni of Perugia and the Bentivoglio of Bologna, and by 1508 had subdued them. A bronze statue of Julius by Michelangelo was placed in the Cathedral of San Petronius in Bologna, as a visible reminder of Papal power.
In 1509, Julius retook Papal territory earlier occupied by Venice. In 1510-11, his unsuccessful attempt to get the French out of Italy caused dissension at the Vatican when some cardinals sided with Louis XII of France.
In response to the defectors' schismatic council, Julius called a council of his own in 1512 at the Lateran Palace, having first formed an alliance with Venice, Spain and Naples. Louis defeated the allied troops at Ravenna in April, 1512, but Swiss troops sent to help the Pope saved the day. (The Pope had formed the famous Swiss guard in 1506 and entrusted his personal safety to these troops.) In May, 1512, 18,000 Swiss arrived at Verona and joined the Papal forces in June. The French, already in disarray after German troops had left them in the lurch, evacuated Milan almost without a fight.
Julius also hired [employed] Raphael* to paint frescoes to glorify his reign. "The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple", for example, symbolized the ousting of the French from Italy and the defeat of the enemies of the church. Raphael's portrait of Julius showed the Pope a sick, old man, but at the same time, an undefeatable old man. It is considered one of the great masterpieces of portraiture.
Extra Connections: His nephew married [related by marriage to] Isabella d’Este’s* daughter.
He knew [knew] Machiavelli*
Gave Imperial title to [gave Imperial status to] Maximilian I*
[his family knew] Pacioli* knew his family
He altered the [altered] Treaty of Tordesillas*
Commissioned work from [commissioned] Signorelli*
Assessment: Restored Papal authority in Italy, drove the French out, and fostered some of the greatest art of the Italian Renaissance.
Oneliner: Julius II the great Renaissance Pope
Bibliography:
- Shaw, Christine, Julius II, The Warrior Pope, Blackwell, Oxford, 1993.