Pope Leo X

Renaissance pope supported art but did not foresee the Reformation

Pope Leo X, with cardinals Giulio de' Medici
 and Luigi de Rossi, in a portrait by Raphael

Pope Leo X was born as Giovanni de' Medici, on this day in 1475 in Florence.

The second son of Lorenzo de' Medici - Lorenzo Il Magnifico - who ruled the Florentine Republic, Leo X has gone down in history as one of the leading Renaissance popes, who made Rome a cultural centre during his papacy.

He is also remembered for failing to take the Reformation seriously enough and for excommunicating Martin Luther.

Giovanni was always destined for a religious life and received a good education at his father’s court, where one of his tutors was the philosopher Pico della Mirandolo. Giovanni went on to study theology and canon law at the University of Pisa.

In 1492 he became a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals, but after his father died later that year, he returned to Florence to live with his older brother, Piero.

He was exiled from Florence in 1494 with the rest of his family, accused of betraying the Florentine republic, and spent the next six years travelling throughout northern Europe.

On his return to Italy in 1500 he settled in Rome and on the death of his brother, Piero, he became the head of the Medici family. Giovanni took part in the conclaves in 1503 that elected first Pope Pius III and then Pope Julius II.

Giovanni was named papal legate to Bologna and Romagna in 1511 and supervised the restoring of Medici control over Florence the following year. Although his younger brother, Giuliano, was in charge of the Florentine republic in name, it was really his older brother, Giovanni, the Cardinal, who ruled.

Giovanni was elected Pope on March 11, 1513 and took the title of Leo X.

He was ordained a priest on March 15 and consecrated Bishop of Rome before being crowned Pope.

Having spent his youth at the court of Lorenzo dè Medici, Leo X personified Renaissance ideals. He was lavish with both the church’s money and his own. Under his patronage, Rome became the cultural centre of Europe once again.

St Peter's Basilica in Rome, as seen from the roof of
Castel Sant'Angelo

Work was speeded up on the construction of the new St Peter’s Basilica, which had been initiated by Pope Julius II. The holdings of the Vatican Library were increased and the arts flourished during his papacy.

As ruler of the Papal States and head of the Medici family who ruled the Florentine republic, Pope Leo X gave offices and benefits to his family to strengthen still further his position.

In 1517, after an attempt had been made on his life, Leo X named 31 new Cardinals. A former Cardinal was strangled in prison and several other imprisoned and executed after being implicated in the attempted assassination.

The Pope also had to contend with the power of France from the north and Spain to the south in the struggle to control Italy.

To raise additional money for the reconstruction of St Peter’s Basilica, Leo X reaffirmed granting papal indulgences for the remission of sins to those who contributed.

Martin Luther, whom Leo X believed was a heretic

This was challenged by Martin Luther, who circulated his Ninety-Five Theses attacking the practice. Leo X issued a papal bull charging Luther with 41 instances of deviation from the teaching and practice of the church and ordered him to recant within 60 days or be excommunicated. Luther defied the Pope and was excommunicated by him on 3 January 1521.

Leo X believed Luther was a heretic whose teaching would leave some of the faithful astray, but that true religion would triumph.

Leo X died in Rome in December 1521 leaving behind political turmoil in Italy and religious turmoil in northern Europe. He did not take seriously the demand for church reforms that would later grow into the Protestant Reformation.

Travel tip:

The stunning Renaissance Basilica of St Peter’s in Rome was completed and consecrated in 1626, helped by the funding acquired by Pope Leo X. Believed to be the largest church in the world, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano was built to replace the original fourth century Basilica that had been constructed on what was believed to be the burial site of St Peter. Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini were among the many artistic geniuses who contributed to the design of the church, which is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. Located within Vatican City, the Basilica is approached along Via della Conciliazione and through the vast space of St Peter’s Square. It is believed that St Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, was executed in Rome on October13, 64 AD during the reign of the Emperor Nero. He was buried close to the place of his martyrdom. The old St Peter’s Basilica was constructed over the burial site 300 years later. Archaeological research under the present day Basilica was carried out during the last century and Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of St Peter’s tomb in 1950.

The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library

Travel tip:

The Vatican Library, inside the Vatican Palace, was built up by Pope Leo X during his papacy. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world but was formally established in 1475, the year Leo X was born. Today it is a research library for history, law, philosophy, science and theology and can be used by anyone who can document their qualifications and research needs. The Vatican Library contains a defence of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church against Martin Luther, supposedly written, or at least signed by, Henry VIII, King of England. He added a couple of lines to the text in his own hand before presenting the book to Pope Leo X.

More reading:

How Pope Julius II came to commission Michelangelo

The consecration of St Peter's Basilica

Bernini and the fountains of Rome

Also on this day:

1912: The birth of film producer Carlo Ponti

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Bartolomeo Colleoni - soldier

Death of an ‘honourable’ Italian military leader

Bartolomeo Colleoni spent virtually the whole
of his military career in the service of Venice

Bergamo soldier Bartolomeo Colleoni, who became known for using his wealth to benefit people, died on this day in 1475.

Colleoni spent most of his life in the pay of the republic of Venice, defending his home city of Bergamo against invaders but also leading Venetian armies in other military action.

He is remembered as one of the most decent condottieri of his era, carrying out charitable works and agricultural improvements in Bergamo and the surrounding area when he was not involved in military campaigns.

Condottieri were the leaders of troops, who worked for the powerful ruling factions, often for high payments. 

Colleoni's rise to power is remarkable given his traumatic early years. He was born around 1400 in the small village of Solza , near Bergamo, to a family of minor local nobility. 

His childhood was violently disrupted when his father, Paolo, was murdered by his own cousins ​​during a bitter dispute over the family estate. 

Left with little inheritance, a teenage Colleoni realised that his only path to survival and advancement lay in the military. He began his martial training in Piacenza and launched his professional career as a soldier of fortune at the age of  just 15. 

Colleoni was unusual because he remained steadfast to one employer, the Republic of Venice, for most of his career. Bergamo was under the control of Venice between 1428 and 1797.

During a period of peace between Venice and Milan, Colleoni worked briefly for Milan but the rulers never fully trusted him and eventually he was arrested and imprisoned. On his release, he returned to work for Venice and subsequently stayed faithful to them.

Colleoni was blessed with a brilliant tactical mind, becoming one of the 15th century's most celebrated military strategists by revolutionising battlefield technology. He was a pioneer in the use of field artillery, successfully utilising light, highly mobile cannons positioned at the rear of his troops to break enemy lines. 

The equestrian statue of Colleoni in
Venice's Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo

This technical foresight secured major victories for the Venetian Republic at Brescia, Verona, and in the famous Battle of Molinella in 1467. Recognizing his irreplaceable strategic value, Venice officially appointed him Captain-General for life in 1455 and showered him with vast estates to ensure he would never sell his services to their rivals. 

Towards the end of his life he lived with his family at his castle, Castello di Malpaga, to the south of Bergamo, where he established a vibrant Renaissance court.

At Malpaga, he surrounded his family with prominent humanist scholars, poets, and artists. He also proudly displayed his infamous and bold coat of arms, which featured a literal pun on his surname - coglione, meaning testicles - a symbol he wore proudly as a badge of raw virility and courage.

Together with his wife, Tisbe Martinengo, Colleoni raised eight daughters. Because he lacked a male heir, the family name effectively ended with him, prompting his intense focus on cementing a lasting legacy through monumental architecture. 

He later turned his attention to designing a building to house his own tomb. This has given Bergamo’s Città Alta, the upper town, its most ornate and celebrated building, the Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni Chapel).

Bartolomeo Colleoni left money to Venice in his will with a request that a statue of himself be erected in Piazza San Marco after his death. As there was a rule that no monuments were allowed in the Piazza, the statue, made by Andrea del Verrocchio, was eventually placed opposite the Scuola di San Marco in Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Closer to home, he used the immense wealth he earned from Venetian military contracts to finance major public infrastructure projects. Most notably, he spent a significant portion of his fortune restoring the ancient Roman baths at Trescore Balneario, transforming them into a functional site to benefit the health and wellbeing of local citizens. 

Upon his death on November 2, 1475, he also bequeathed a massive sum of 100,000 ducats to the Republic of Venice specifically to fund their ongoing campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, proving his civic devotion outlived his battlefield days. 

The Colleoni Chapel is
a Renaissance gem

Travel tip:

The Colleoni Chapel - Cappello Colleoni - is universally recognized as one of the finest masterpieces of Italian Renaissance architecture. Designed by architect Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, this striking mausoleum has often been compared to an intricate, oversized jewel box. Amadeo utilized a dazzling geometric facade of polychrome pink, white, and black marble lozenges, tyled to harmonise with the northern doorway of the adjacent Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The chapel's interior bridges Late Gothic craftsmanship and high-Baroque artistry. The central focus is Colleoni's magnificent two-tier marble sarcophagus, adorned with relief sculptures of biblical scenes and triumphantly surmounted by a towering, gilded wooden equestrian statue of the commander himself. True to his final wishes, the leader was laid to rest in the lower sarcophagus, where his remains still rest alongside a smaller tomb housing his beloved teenage daughter, Medea. The chapel's dome and lunettes showcase sweeping, vibrant frescoes painted centuries later by the Venetian master Giambattista Tiepolo. Woven into the wrought-iron gate is the Colleoni family coat of arms, which features a literal depiction of three testicles, coglione - a bawdy pun on his surname. Centuries of superstition dictate that rubbing this crest at midnight brings good luck and bravery, leaving that exact spot highly polished and brightly discoloured by millions of passing travellers.

The 'Doors of the Dead' in Via alla Rocca reflect
local superstitions around the souls of the dead

Travel tip:

November 2 is All Souls Day, or the Day of the Dead, in Italy, when people visit the graves of their loved ones. Many areas observe their own rituals and have special foods, such as the slightly macabre ossi dei morti (bones of the dead), which are traditional biscuits eaten on All Souls Day in the Veneto region. In northern Italy, some areas bake pan dei morti - a spiced biscuit-like cookie made with crushed amaretti, flour, sugar, egg whites, dried fruits, and spices. The same cultural obsession with death and superstition probably lies behind a distinct architectural phenomenon found in Bergamo's medieval Città Alta. Along the narrow, winding Via alla Rocca, the street that leads from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe to the Rocca di Bergamo, a former fortress, there are some unusual, narrow, pointed gothic doorways that have been completely bricked up. These are known as Le Porte del Morto - the Doors of the Dead. According to local tradition, the truth of which is disputed by some, these were secondary doors to residential buildings that were supposedly opened exclusively to carry out the coffin of a deceased family member. It was considered incredibly bad luck for the living and the dead to cross the same threshold. Once the body was taken out to the cemetery, the door was immediately walled up with bricks to physically and symbolically block the spirit of the deceased from finding its way back into the home. 

Also on this day:

293: The death of martyr San Giusto di Trieste

1418: The birth of builder and diarist Gaspare Nadi

1893: The birth of car designer Battista 'Pinin' Farina

1906: The birth of film director Luchino Visconti

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Sources & Further Reading

• Treccani.it: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani – Volume 27: Colleoni, Bartolomeo
• Britannica.com: Bartolomeo Colleoni: Italian Mercenary, Military Leader & Strategist
• World Monuments Fund: The Restoration of the Bartolomeo Colleoni Monument, Venice
• VisitBergamo.net: The Colleoni Chapel (Cappella Colleoni) Architectural Profile & History
• Castello di Malpaga: Official Records of the Colleoni Estate and Renaissance Court
• Comune di Solza: Official Municipal Registry and Birthplace History of Bartolomeo Colleoni

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