Julius II

Giuliano della Rovere · 1503 – 1513

The 'Warrior Pope' who commissioned Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, Raphael's Vatican frescoes, and personally led armies into battle.

Julius II earned his nickname honestly. He put on armor, rode at the head of his troops, and personally directed siege operations to reclaim papal territories. He was Sixtus IV's nephew and had spent decades scheming for the papacy before winning it in 1503. Once elected, he set about two projects: restoring the Papal States by force and transforming Rome into the greatest city in the world. He commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a project Michelangelo initially resisted and Julius relentlessly pushed. He hired Raphael to paint the Vatican Stanze. He ordered Bramante to tear down the old St. Peter's Basilica and start building the new one. He convened the Fifth Lateran Council to address Church reform, though he died before it accomplished much. His warmongering and his patronage of genius exist side by side, and neither cancels the other out.

The Ceiling

Julius bullied Michelangelo into painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the result is arguably the greatest single work of art in Western civilization. The two men fought constantly. Michelangelo once fled Rome, and Julius had to send riders to bring him back. But Julius had the vision to demand something extraordinary, and the stubbornness to see it through.

Pope in Armor

Erasmus mocked him. Luther was scandalized by him. Julius II was a pope who waged wars, collected territory, and built an empire. He saw no contradiction between military action and his spiritual office. Modern Catholics generally do. But the Rome he built, the art he commissioned, and the basilica he started still define Vatican City today.