Some years ago, at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, a wonderful exhibition about Raphael was provided. Yes, the Eternal City is also excellent as a location for exhibitions of various kinds and depth, thanks to which you can learn more about personalities from the art world, both famous and less famous, who made history. Undoubtedly, however, Rome would not be the same if, for centuries, it had not been governed, through ups and downs, by pontiffs . And among the latter, many left a distinctive mark in history (sometimes creating scandal, as you can read here), especially in that of the Renaissance. Taking inspiration from this exhibition, in the photo we have a portrait , made by Raphael, of one of the pontiffs who, in many ways, contributed to making Rome what it is today: Leo X.

For a tour guide like me, Leo Pontiff from 1514 to 1521 he succeeded Julius II, and this succession was not only in name but, also and in part, in the way of conceiving power. With Leo X And it is not a case. In fact, the real name of Leo was Giovanni De Medici, so a member of the vary famous family from the Renaissance age. Introduced to ecclesiastical activity from a very young age, with the clear aim of having someone of weight within the Roman Curia, Giovanni de Medici became a cardinal already in his adolescence. Upon the death of Julius II in 1513, in the Conclave the cardinals wanted to look for someone who was calmer, unsuitable for fighting wars around the peninsula as Julius II did, for political purposes. The choice fell on Giovanni, a young boy but with fragile health. Fat, self-confident and used to living in luxury, Leo X was destined, according to many cardinals, to die soon. A short papacy to rearrange things while waiting to find a stronger pontiff. Absolutely common political games, as the papacy represented a real kingdom, with its delicate and changing political balances. But this was not the case, given that Leo X remained in office for seven years. And he certainly left a vivid memory of himself, especially in the imagination of the populace and beyond. The parties in his court were famous, composed of musicians, poets, philosophers and various artists. A court that moved in the most unbridled luxury, and that moved from one event to another with extreme nonchalance. Memorable were, after all, the celebrations that Leo X ordered for the arrival in Rome of his brother Giuliano, who had just become (coincidentally) cardinal. A wooden theater was built on the top of the Capitoline Hill which could accommodate around 3000 people, spectators of those shows that the Pope had prepared for his brother. Not to mention the sumptuous 22-course lunch and the numerous related events. All with, in the background, the famous bronze Capitoline Wolf and the large hand of the Colossus of Constantine holding a large bronze globe, a clear reference to the balls that symbolized the Medici house. Leo It was he, in fact, who ordered Raphael to verify all the Roman antiquities, acting as a sort of new superintendent. In short, the Renaissance master was forced to wander around Rome checking, cataloguing, studying and drawing all those ancient ruins that emerged from the ground. A full-scale census of course, which led Raphael to openly criticize the lack of consideration that many, including popes, had towards the vestiges of ancient Rome. Don't be surprised if Leo X promoted this kind of policy. His knowledge of art, love and taste for beauty, which originated from the luxurious environment in which he was accustomed to living, led the pontiff to worry about that open-air museum that is Rome.

This brief historical excursus which therefore leads us to get to know a little better a pope who has done a lot of things, whose pontificate can be limited in this phrase: “Let's enjoy the papacy, seeing as God wanted to give it to us”. Leo X himself would have said it, a series of words that probably describe well the idea he had of his government and his power. This was the Rome of the sixteenth century, of the Renaissance and of Raphael. A Rome also to be preserved, designed and embellished with art and culture, essential elements in the papacy of Leo X.