The Renaissance

ments that inspired them to emulate the
architectural styles of antiquity.

Pope Nicholas V, whose reign began in
1447, invited scholars and artists to the
city and commissioned Leon Battista Al-
berti to design a new basilica. The new
Saint Peter’s Basilica was constructed over
the next century from the plans of Alberti,
Donato Bramante, Michelangelo Buonar-
roti, Raphael, and several other renowned
artists and architects. Pope Sixtus IV es-
tablished the Vatican Library in 1475, be-
gan construction on the Sistine Chapel,
and ordered new roads to clear away the
city’s dark and sinister medieval alleys.

Rome became a major political center
as the popes expanded their authority to
the Papal States in central Italy and con-
tended for power in northern Italy. The
city was occupied by the French in 1494
and in 1527 sacked by the mutinous troops
of the Emperor Charles V. In the mean-
time, several popes gained a reputation for
nepotism and corruption, and the city re-
mained a lawless place where murder and
riots were frequent occurrences. Under
Pope Julius II, Leo X, and Clement VII,
Rome became a thriving artistic center of
the Renaissance, the home of new
churches, palaces, and masterpieces cre-
ated by Michelangelo, Bramante, and
Raphael. At the same time, the popes and
the Catholic Church were being directly
challenged by the Protestant Reformation
sweeping northern Europe. By convening
the Council of Trent, Pope Paul III at-
tempted to reform the church and return
Protestant territories to the religious au-
thority of Rome. The Catholic Reforma-
tion that followed discouraged new schol-
arship and placed new restrictions on the
style and subject of art and literature, with
an Index banning certain works entirely
and an Inquisition accusing and trying

many for religious heresy. The popes

ended the lavish feasts and festivals that

had entertained the city, and adopted new

costumes and regalia meant to display the

church’s more devout, somber, and mod-

est character. Under Pope Sixtus V, the Pa-

pacy established a large police force and

banned all manner of unruly behavior,

from prostitution to public assembly to

dueling. Pope Sixtus cleared away many

old neighborhoods in order to make Rome

a more welcoming center for religious pil-

grims. By the end of the Renaissance the

city had been completely transformed,

with new churches and palaces raised in

the new style largely inspired by the city’s

ancient ruins.

SEEALSO: Julius II; Papacy; Papal States;

Sack of Rome

Ronsard, Pierre de ...........................

(1524–1585)

French poet, born in La Poissoniere as the

son of an aristocratic but poverty-stricken

family. His father arranged for him to be

sent to the court of Francis I as a page

boy, where he served the sons of King

Francis I. He then served under Princess

Madeleine after her marriage to King

James V of Scotland. He returned to

France and joined a circle of classical

scholars around Jean Dorat, who became

principal of the College de Conqueret in

1547. The group formed a literary circle
      known as the Pleiade. He began writing
      poetry and in imitation of the odes of the
      Greek poet Pindar wroteThe First Four
      Books of Odesin 1550, praising members
      of the royal family in his lines. His next
      work,Amours, was a tribute to the love
      sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch.
      Ronsard wrote several essays during
      the 1560s condemning the civil war in

Ronsard, Pierre de