Pope Clement VII was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate of the popes", Clement VII's reign was marked by a rapid succession of political, military, and religious struggles—many long in the making—which had far-reaching consequences for Christianity and world politics.
Portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo, c. 1531 (oil on slate; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles)
Hanging of Bernardo Baroncelli, Leonardo da Vinci, 1479. Pazzi Conspirator.
Giulio Cardinal de' Medici, left; with his cousin Pope Leo X, center; and Luigi Cardinal de' Rossi, right; by Raphael, 1519.
The Transfiguration, by Raphael, 1520. Commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Apennine Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the Pope from 756 until 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th century until the Unification of Italy, between 1859 and 1870.
The Quirinal Palace, 1777
Pope Gregory XVI
The Roman States
Roman States army