Latest / The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History / Pope Julius II: The Warrior Pope Who Built St. Peter's
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the popes of this era — Alexander VI, the Borgias, Gregory XI, Clement VII. But there's one pope we haven't really touched who might be the most fascinating of all: Julius II. Luna: The Warrior Pope, right? He was the one who commissioned the Sistine Chapel ceiling? Lucas: Exactly. Giuliano della Rovere — that was his birth name — was pope from 1503 to 1513. He's this incredible combination of ruthless politician, military commander, and one of the greatest patrons of art in history. He wasn't just a patron, though; he personally led armies into battle. Lucas: He was elected after the very short papacy of Pius III, who died just 26 days after becoming pope. Julius was already a cardinal for decades under his uncle Pope Sixtus IV — the one who built the Sistine Chapel. So he knew exactly how the Vatican worked. Luna: And he absolutely hated the Borgias, didn't he? Lucas: Hated them. He was a rival of Alexander VI for years. In fact, when Alexander was pope, Giuliano della Rovere had to flee to France for his own safety. He spent about a decade in exile. So when he became pope, one of his first moves was to destroy the Borgia influence — he stripped Cesare Borgia of his titles and imprisoned him. Lucas: But his real obsession was reasserting papal control over the Papal States. A lot of that territory had been lost or was controlled by local lords. So he personally led military campaigns — at age 60, in full armor — to take back cities like Perugia and Bologna. Luna: That's incredible. Was he a good general? Lucas: He was more of a symbol. He hired the best condottieri, like the famous French general Gaston de Foix. But Julius himself was on the battlefield, which was almost unheard of for a pope. His goal was to free Italy from foreign powers — he wanted to kick out the French and the Spaniards. Lucas: That led to the formation of the Holy League in 1511 — an alliance of the Papal States, Venice, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and England, all against France. The League's biggest battle was the Battle of Ravenna in 1512. It was a French victory, but they lost Gaston de Foix, and they were so weakened they had to retreat from Italy anyway. Luna: So in a way, Julius won even in defeat. Lucas: Exactly. Within a year, the French were out of Italy, and the Papal States were stronger than ever. But there's another side to Julius that's just as important — his art patronage. He hired Donato Bramante to start rebuilding St. Peter's Basilica, which was in terrible shape. Bramante's design was a huge Greek cross plan with a massive dome — the foundation for what would become the St. Peter's we know today. Lucas: He also summoned Raphael to Rome and commissioned him to paint the Vatican Stanze — the papal apartments. The most famous of those is the School of Athens, which celebrates classical philosophy. And then, of course, there's Michelangelo. Luna: Oh, their relationship was legendary. Didn't they have huge fights? Lucas: Huge fights. Julius first hired Michelangelo to build his tomb — a massive monument with over 40 statues. But then Julius got distracted by the St. Peter's project, and Michelangelo felt slighted. He actually fled to Florence. Julius had to send messengers to bring him back. Eventually, Julius convinced Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling instead — which Michelangelo didn't even want to do. He considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. Luna: And that ceiling became one of the greatest works of art in history. Lucas: Right. Michelangelo worked on it from 1508 to 1512, completely alone, lying on scaffolding. The result — the Creation of Adam, the Last Judgment, the prophets and sibyls — it changed Western art. And it happened because Julius II was stubborn enough to demand it. Lucas: Julius also had a famous temper. There's a story that Michelangelo once painted Julius into the Sistine Chapel as the prophet Jonah — and Jonah is looking up, as if irritated. Michelangelo said that's how Julius always looked at him. Luna: I also read that Julius grew a beard as a sign of mourning after losing the city of Bologna, and that became a trend among popes. Lucas: Yes! That's a great detail. In 1511, after the French retook Bologna, Julius grew a beard, which was unusual for Renaissance popes. And then many subsequent popes kept beards for centuries. So his personal habits had a real influence on papal fashion. Lucas: Julius died in 1513, just a year after the Sistine Chapel ceiling was unveiled. He was buried in St. Peter's, but his tomb — the one Michelangelo started — was never finished properly. It ended up in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, with the famous Moses statue as the centerpiece. Luna: So he left the Church stronger, richer, and more beautiful. But he also set the stage for the Reformation, didn't he? Lucas: In a way, yes. His military campaigns and lavish spending on art required huge sums of money, which was raised through the sale of indulgences — a practice that Martin Luther would soon condemn. So Julius II, for all his greatness, helped create the conditions for the Protestant Reformation. It's a complicated legacy. Lucas: But for our purposes, he's the perfect example of the Renaissance pope: a warrior, a politician, and a patron who believed that the glory of God and the glory of the papacy were one and the same. Luna: And he funded some of the most incredible art ever made. Lucas: Exactly. Without Julius II, we might not have the Sistine Chapel, the new St. Peter's, or Raphael's frescoes. He was a difficult, driven man, but he left an indelible mark on Rome.