Julius II

(1443–1513)

   Pope.

   Julius was born Giuliano della Rovere in Abissola, Italy. He joined the Franciscan Order and, when his uncle was elected Pope Sixtus IV, he was appointed a Cardinal and collected a clutch of profitable bene- fices. He was influential in the election of Pope Innocent VIII in 1484, but, with the accession of his rival, the Borgia alexander vi, he fled to shelter with King Charles VIII of France in 1492. When Alexander died in 1503, he returned to Rome. Then, after the monthlong reign of Pius III, with the aid of bribery and promises which he had no intention of keeping, he negotiated his own election. By making alliances with France and the Holy Roman Emperor, he extended the Papal States at the expense of Perugia, Bologna and Venice. Then he founded the Holy League with Spain, England, Venice and Switzerland to drive the French out of Italy. In response, Louis XII of France called for the Pope to be deposed at the Council of Pisa. Julius in his turn, with the aid of the Emperor, called the Fifth Lateran Council in 1511. Julius is remembered as the subject of erasmus’s satire and as the patron of michelangelo and raphael. He was a generous supporter of the arts and during his reign, the cornerstone was laid for the Basilica of St Peter. Later, it was the selling of Indulgences to finance the building work that led Martin luther to nail his theses against the practice on the door of Wittenberg Church. Julius is also known as the subject of a remarkable portrait by Raphael.

   L.W. Partridge, A Renaissance Likeness: Art and Culture in Raphael’s Julius II (1980);

   C. Shaw, Julius II: The Warrior Pope (1993).