A BIT IN DEEP: AGOSTINO CHIGI AND HIS PROTECTED
In this short journey into the Roman Renaissance we traveled over a century of history, an extraordinary artistic standpoint, but politically dramatic and disastrous for Italy and for the Church.
The latter sought to reassert its primacy over local churches, contrasting with Alexander VI Borgia, the Spanish Inquisition, but Leo X had to come to terms with the French church, while Martin Luther had given life to the Lutheran schism. Worst fate befell Clement VII, who was not able to oppose the birth of the Anglican Church, and finally, in an alliance with Francis I, King of France, he came into conflict with Charles V, having to endure the vile Sack of Rome in 1527.
From this set of catastrophic events, the Church was able to recover by promoting the Catholic Reformation, the one we know as the Counter Reformation.
The woes of Italy instead would be continued and continued for a long time, indeed it was divided between republics, mini republics and seignories¹, according to a custom that still pursues insatiably, living testimony to the words of Dante: "ouch slave Italy pain hostel, ship without helmsman in a great storm, no ruler of provinces but brothel." And the brothel was fully manifested in the tireless aggregation and disaggregation of treacherous alliances, ending each time with prostitution in favor of the alien.
In contrast Spain, through the union of the states of Castile and Aragon, already in 1469, was set to become a unitary state, such as France and England and in 1520 Charles V was crowned King of Spain, King of Italy, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of the Holy Germanic Empire. Pope Borgia attempted to initiate a policy of unification of Italy, but his attempt failed, nor had better luck Julius II.
1 - Republic of Genoa , the Duchy of Savoy, the Duchy of Milan, Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Mantua, the Duchy of Ferrara, the Duchy of Modena, the Republic of Florence, the Republic of Siena, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Sicily. While Sardinia belonged to the kingdom of Spain
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