The Sack of Rome and the Fall of the Papacy

The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · Oct 4, 2026 · 10m · transcript

In 1527, the city of Rome suffered its most violent trauma in centuries. This episode explores the Sack of Rome, a catastrophic event that shattered the illusion of papal invincibility and ended the High Renaissance as a period of uninterrupted patronage. We trace the convergence of political missteps by Pope Clement VII, the unpaid rage of Charles V’s imperial troops, and the chaotic days of June that followed. You will meet the soldiers who marched on the Eternal City, the civilians who hid in the Vatican, and the specific military failures that allowed the German Landsknechts and Spanish…