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Rome.
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Holy City...
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Eternal City.
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A city with a sacred mission to rule
and minister to the world.
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Its stories of faith and violence
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forged by 3,000 years of tyrants,
saints and artists.
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From the Roman emperors and
the Christian popes
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to the Renaissance and fascism...
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..a holy city driven
more by power than piety.
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As a historian, I'm
fascinated by this place.
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I'm here to tell the history
of the Eternal City
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through its rulers,
its art, its shrines...
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In its first 2,000 years,
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Rome developed from the seat of
power of the pagan empire
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to the capital of one
of the great world faiths.
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But at the beginning of
its third millennium,
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we find Rome at its lowest ebb.
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Abandoned by the papacy,
the city resembled a wilderness.
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In this final episode,
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the Renaissance popes embark
on an incredible mission
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to transform the city.
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They harness the greatest
talents of the age
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to create a majestic new Rome.
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Stepping inside some of Rome's
most magnificent buildings,
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I witness how religion,
art, lust and greed
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vie to create the most splendid
city on Earth.
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But the hubris of the popes
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almost destroys the very city
they are creating.
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In the centuries that follow,
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Protestantism and nationalism
threaten Rome and the papacy.
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In order to prosper,
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the Eternal City would need to
adapt again and again.
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This is the blood-spattered,
dramatic story
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of how Rome emerged from
the turbulence of the early popes
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and the catastrophes
of the Middle Ages
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into the magnificent city
we see today.
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In 1350, Rome was
a desperate backwater.
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The kings of France dominated Rome
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and forced the election
of a French pope,
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who took up his residence
not in Rome,
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but in Avignon.
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Without the Pope, Rome lost
its financial and moral power.
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Crime thrived on its streets,
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dominated by two
aristocratic families,
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the Colonnas and the Orsinis,
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from their fortified palaces.
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They ruled the territories
in the city like gangster bosses...
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..Rome's real-life versions
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of Shakespeare's Montagues
and Capulets.
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There were now just
30,000 people living in Rome,
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compared to a million
in imperial times.
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The city that was once
the head of the world
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had become, wrote poet Petrarch,
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"The rubbish heap of history."
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But salvation would come from
an unlikely source.
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The church of Santa Maria
sopra Minerva
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is the final resting place
of the woman
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who would rescue Rome's fortunes.
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Her name was Caterina Benincasa,
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but she's better known
as St Catherine of Siena.
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She spent much of her life
in a state of feverish rapture,
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of long periods of deep meditation,
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and it was said that Jesus' wounds
bled from her body.
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In 1370, Catherine was 23.
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She was broken-hearted by
the fall of Rome.
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She believed the Pope had
betrayed Christianity itself
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by abandoning his city.
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It was an article of faith
for believers
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that the Pope was the natural
heir of St Peter,
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the first Bishop of Rome,
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and to properly exert his authority,
he had to rule from the Holy City.
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Catherine believed that in order to
save her precious Church,
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the Pope had to return.
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Catherine made it her life's mission
to bring the Pope back to Rome.
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Alone against the might of
the papacy and the rulers of Europe,
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Catherine fought to save
the Church and city.
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She wrote letter after letter
imploring the Pope to leave Avignon.
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Some of the earliest editions are
here at the Biblioteca Casanatense.
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Manuscript keeper
Isabella Ceccopieri
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has agreed to translate them for me.
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"Come, come, and resist no more
the will of God that calls you,
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"for you, as the vicar of Christ,
should rest in your own place
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"and fear not for anything
that might happen,
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"since God will be with you."
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I guess the first thing that strikes
you in this is that Catherine...
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She's saying, "Get a move on, Pope.
Get a move on, Holy Father.
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"Get down there. This is my
personal command..."
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As if they were equals. As equals.
Completely as equals.
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"So, I ask unto you, our father
and our shepherd,
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"begging you on behalf of Christ
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"to rescue the lost sheep,
the human race,
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"from the hands of the demons."
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And, of course, the demons are
those running riot in Rome
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when the Pope is away.
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And so, this is a very
powerful appeal.
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She believes more than anything that
the Pope's rightful place is in Rome
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and that she wants him with all
her will, backed by the Holy Spirit,
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to return there.
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Yeah. She's a strong will.
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She's got such a strong will.
Very powerful stuff.
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After years of Catherine's
letter-writing,
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the Pope showed
no sign of returning.
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She resolved to travel to Avignon
to confront the Pope directly.
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The fate of Rome rested on
the shoulders of this lone woman.
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In 1377,
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the Pope returned in a triumphant
procession to the Holy City
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with Catherine of Siena by his side.
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After 70 years of exile,
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the Pope was back
in his rightful place.
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Centuries later, Catherine
would be rewarded
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by being made patron saint
of Italy...
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AND Europe.
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But it would be years before
Rome recovered
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from the Avignon Exile.
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Rome was in need of a strong ruler,
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but the papacy was now
bizarrely weakened.
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The Pope may have been back in Rome,
but at the end of the 14th century,
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the French king elected
a rival pope, an antipope,
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over in Avignon.
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00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,880
Kings and emperors now felt
they could appoint their own popes
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to suit themselves.
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The situation got so ridiculous
that, at times,
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there were three popes
in three different cities
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all claiming to be supreme pontiff.
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This became known
as the Western Schism.
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Rome would never reign supreme while
the papacy was a laughing stock.
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I've come to the place where
the schism ended
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and the resurgence began...
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..where the Romans claimed back
their papacy.
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This is the largest
private palace in Rome,
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and it's still the home of
the Colonna family.
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They've lived here for 700 years,
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and in the 13th and 14th centuries,
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they were one of the two
warring families
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fighting for control
of Rome's streets.
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But in 1417, the Colonna family
pulled off a major triumph.
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00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:02,000
After centuries of dominating Rome
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with their private armies
and wealth,
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00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:08,120
these swaggering warlords
were about to play a decisive role
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00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,880
in restoring the papacy
and the city.
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There was one way to harness
their violent power.
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To elect a member
of the family as pope.
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And to this day,
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the palace displays a special piece
of furniture to mark this triumph.
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This is the throne room.
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Every dynasty with a pope
in the family
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had one just like this for
when future popes came to visit.
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And here's the throne itself.
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But as you can see, it's facing
the wrong way round,
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and that's because it was only
turned to face the right way
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when there was a pope
actually here to sit on it.
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It was the election of
the Colonna Pope, Martin V, in 1417
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that brought an end
to the Western Schism.
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The competing popes had turned
the papacy into a farce,
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and finally, a council persuaded
all the popes to resign.
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When they elected Martin V,
it was first time in years
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that the Pope had not only been
Italian, but a Roman,
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and a scion of the city's
most powerful family.
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From now on, the papacy was Roman,
and Rome would be the papal city.
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But the papacy was still vulnerable,
and the city was a mess.
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The Pope's task now was to restore
the authority of both,
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to make Rome the undisputed
capital of Christendom.
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From this point on, the popes
were united by a shared vision.
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Through the 15th and 16th centuries
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they embarked on a project
of breathtaking scope
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that would turn Rome into
a building site for 200 years.
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Pope Nicholas V declared that they
would create "great buildings"
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that would demonstrate that
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"the authority of the Roman Church
is the greatest and highest."
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Rome, said Pope Sixtus IV, would be
"the capital of the world."
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The mission was to create the most
magnificent city on Earth,
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so that pilgrims who
couldn't read or write
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could see in its churches
and palaces
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the glory of God
and his popes.
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Rome's renaissance had begun.
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Across the skyline, the domes of
grandiose churches started to rise.
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Popes and cardinals built the most
sumptuous palaces
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to display the impressive art
they'd commissioned.
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00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,360
The most elaborate of these would be
the papal residence itself,
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the Vatican.
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It was an astonishing endeavour
that brought together
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the highest and lowest of
human appetites.
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00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:26,120
Spirituality and art vied
with power, lust and greed.
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00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,480
It took the patronage of many popes,
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00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,880
the work of the greatest artists
that have ever lived,
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and incalculable sums of money.
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The ambition was boundless,
the vision splendid.
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The popes would stop at nothing
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to make Rome the most holy
city on Earth...
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..a new Jerusalem.
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But the men leading the mission
would be far from saintly.
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The Renaissance popes saw
no contradiction
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between their sacred role,
cut-throat politics,
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and the pursuit of wealth
and pleasure.
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There was one Pope who personifies
this merciless magnificence
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like no other.
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This is the Castel Sant'Angelo,
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00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:34,040
the fortress, prison and
torture chamber of the papacy,
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and up there is the family crest
of Pope Alexander VI.
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00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:44,200
But if you look closely, you'll see
that it's been totally vandalised.
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And this is because
Alexander VI was a member
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of the most notorious family in
the entire history of the papacy...
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the Borgias.
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The Borgia Pope was the nephew
of the Spanish Pope Callixtus III,
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who raised him to Cardinal.
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00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,200
A brilliantly cunning
and effective politician,
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00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:18,800
as Pope, he was ruthlessly effective
in promoting papal power.
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00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,000
He was determined to make
Rome great
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and his family even greater.
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00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:32,520
His son, Cesare Borgia, was a bishop
at 16 and a cardinal at 18,
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00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,920
but he probably murdered
his own brother,
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00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,000
whose death enabled him
to resign from the Church
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00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,800
and become papal commander-in-chief,
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00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,160
conquering new territories
for the family.
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00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,760
He was brilliantly talented,
tireless and terrifying.
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00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,360
His victims were found floating
in the Tiber every morning.
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00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:58,040
But to Machiavelli, he was the ideal
of the Renaissance prince.
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00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,840
Cesare Borgia was the Pope's
flamboyant enforcer and henchman.
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00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:08,880
No-one was safe
in his reign of terror.
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00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,800
Corruption, war and assassination
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00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:17,880
were as much part of Rome's
renaissance as the exquisite art.
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00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,000
And the popes and cardinals
were often as debauched
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00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,760
as they were priestly.
224
00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,240
The Borgias shamelessly
turned the Vatican
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into a palace of pleasure.
226
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:38,240
The Pope himself had many lovers
and fathered many children.
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Historian Mary Hollingsworth
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has been studying an account
written by a senior courtier
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00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,640
which provides a rather
interesting insight
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00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,320
into Borgia life at the Vatican.
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00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,960
The papal master of ceremonies
did describe
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00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,600
a particularly lurid dinner party
that Cesare...
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00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,200
not, I should say, the Borgia Pope,
but that Cesare held in the Vatican.
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00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,880
And at the end of the meal,
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00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,440
the guests removed all the big
silver candelabra onto the ground,
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00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,200
and then scattered chestnuts
all over the floor
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00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,080
and invited in a bevy
of naked ladies,
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00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,040
who went around on their
hands and knees,
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00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,640
bobbing up and down their heads
240
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:14,640
to pick up these chestnuts
in their mouths.
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00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,200
And then, at the end, once all
the chestnuts had been collected,
242
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,400
and, presumably, all the wares,
as it were, had been displayed,
243
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,760
then the male guest who had sex
244
00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,360
with the largest number
of these prostitutes
245
00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:30,880
was ceremonially given a present
of a very expensive pair of gloves.
246
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,000
So, those things seem to be true.
247
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,800
I mean, there are plenty
of later popes
248
00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,320
where things like that happened.
249
00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,600
Wasn't one of the great accusations
thrown at the Borgia Pope
250
00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,240
was that he had so many mistresses
and so many children?
251
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,160
Was that usual for a for a religious
leader like the Pope at this time?
252
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,360
Well, I suppose he wasn't the first
to do it and nor was he the last,
253
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:55,440
but he was just slightly more so.
So, he was slightly more...
254
00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,040
He had rather more beautiful
mistresses and, you know,
255
00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,160
an awfully large bevy of children.
256
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,640
How seriously did these Renaissance
popes take their Christianity?
257
00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,760
Well, I personally think
they took it very seriously.
258
00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:10,760
I mean, just because they're
extravagant,
259
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,800
it's not that that they're not
religious. It's not either/or.
260
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,640
It's a different way
of doing things.
261
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:20,960
For the Renaissance popes,
262
00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,720
outrageous parties and
ostentatious displays of wealth
263
00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,080
were a tribute to the glory
of God and Church...
264
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,600
..and a demonstration to the world
of their power and sanctity.
265
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,320
In the mission to make Rome
great once more,
266
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,080
there was one Pope whose ambitions
would exceed all others.
267
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,560
The successor to the Borgia Pope
268
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,200
would be the ultimate creator
of Renaissance Rome.
269
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,360
His name was Giuliano della Rovera.
270
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,720
Years before he became Pope,
271
00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,640
he began forming his great
vision for the city.
272
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,360
And in the entrance to the church
outside his old home
273
00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:17,720
is a clue to his master plan
for the new Rome.
274
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,680
He erected a relief of an eagle...
275
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,800
..the mighty symbol of Ancient Rome.
276
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,080
Giuliano had rescued
the great eagle from the ruins,
277
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,880
and he wanted to do the same
to Rome itself.
278
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,000
His vision was to restore
the Eternal City
279
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000
to its ancient glories.
280
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,240
And he himself would be
its Julius Caesar.
281
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,920
So it's no wonder that
when elected Pope,
282
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:49,800
the name he chose was Julius II.
283
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,200
Deep inside the Vatican Palace,
284
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,840
the walls of Julius's
private apartments ring out
285
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:12,720
with the story of his reign.
286
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:22,480
This high priest saw himself
as a warrior pope...
287
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,080
..who would don armour to lead
his troops into battle...
288
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,320
..like the emperors of old.
289
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:39,080
He became know as Papa Terribile,
the fearsome Pope.
290
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:51,320
But his most effective foot soldiers
would be his army of artists.
291
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,440
He assembled a team of
the greatest artists in history
292
00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,160
to equal, and even out-do,
the glory of imperial Rome.
293
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:04,600
The artist Raphael
294
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,400
would be commissioned to decorate
his living quarters,
295
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,680
which many consider
Raphael's finest work.
296
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,440
Classical, as well as
Christian, scenes
297
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,920
dominate the Papal Apartments.
298
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,000
The pagan God Apollo has
pride of place,
299
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:27,040
surrounded by the finest poets,
from Homer to Dante.
300
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,480
Not all Christians were comfortable
with the pagan imagery,
301
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,960
but this classical/Christian fusion
302
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,360
was the true spirit of
the Renaissance.
303
00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:45,480
Julius was channelling
the greatest human achievements
throughout history
304
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,960
to promote the power of the papacy
and Christian Rome.
305
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,240
But it was Julius' partnership
with one particular artist
306
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,840
that would come to define the
Renaissance more than any other.
307
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:02,040
An artist so revered that even
his rival, Raphael, painted him...
308
00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,120
Michelangelo.
309
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,880
Michelangelo was
impossible to deal with.
310
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,760
He was obsessive,
paranoid and avaricious.
311
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,960
Tormented by his artistic rivalries,
his religious doubts,
312
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:24,400
the demands of his greedy family,
and his own homosexuality.
313
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,360
But Julius's commission would
produce a peerless masterpiece,
314
00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:30,800
the jewel of the Renaissance.
315
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,840
500 years after its creation,
316
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,600
it is still regarded as one of
the world's finest works.
317
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,080
Even amidst the other splendours
of the Sistine Chapel,
318
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,080
it's the ceiling that takes
your breath away.
319
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:12,520
Painting the ceiling was a physical
and creative challenge.
320
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,440
Michelangelo was tormented
by neck and eye pain.
321
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,920
And Julius was a harsh taskmaster.
He beat Michelangelo
with a stick,
322
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:27,240
but the haughty artist was every bit
as volcanic as his patron.
323
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,920
Julius even used his own epithet to
describe him - Il Terribile.
324
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:42,120
But from this fiery relationship
came perfection.
325
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,120
In 1512, a heavenly vision
was unveiled.
326
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,960
The creation narrative of Genesis
327
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,480
has never been
so sublimely rendered.
328
00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,000
This is truly
the pinnacle of the Renaissance.
329
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,280
It's just amazing to be here.
330
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:17,080
One really feels
one's...in the company of genius.
331
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,880
As you see God giving life to Adam,
332
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:30,200
you feel, too, how Michelangelo
gave life to the Renaissance.
333
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,640
Rome was reborn.
334
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,840
Michelangelo projects his vision
of the human body
335
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,240
as an expression of God's design.
336
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,680
While for Julius, this was
the declaration of papal Rome
337
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,480
as all-powerful
and divinely blessed.
338
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,560
But Julius wasn't prepared
to stop here.
339
00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:01,040
Seven years earlier,
340
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,040
Julius had set in motion
an even more ambitious project...
341
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:08,720
..right next door
to the Vatican Palace.
342
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,880
An endeavour so colossal,
it would outlast Julius
343
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,280
and the final days
of the Renaissance itself.
344
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,200
Inside the Church
of San Martino ai Monti
345
00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,760
is an image of what was once
the most sacred building in Rome...
346
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,760
..the original St Peter's Basilica,
built by Constantine the Great.
347
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,760
It was already 1,000 years old.
348
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,720
The very legitimacy and sanctity
of the popes themselves
349
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,960
were based on their connection
to the place
350
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,160
where St Peter had been
crucified and buried.
351
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,760
But in 1505, Pope Julius II
decided to destroy it.
352
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:00,640
Many of the clergy were outraged.
353
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,760
To destroy the basilica
was sacrilege.
354
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,800
Julius wanted to build
a bigger, better St Peter's,
355
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:18,320
that would be fittingly magnificent
for the capital of Christendom.
356
00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,560
But he was taking a huge gamble.
357
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,800
He was demolishing Rome's
most beloved building
358
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,840
and the only church that linked
the city and the papacy
359
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,760
to the early days of Christianity,
and St Peter himself.
360
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,880
The rebuilding of St Peter's
would last 120 years.
361
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,560
It would take the commitment
of another 20 popes
362
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:46,320
to deliver Julius's vision.
363
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,720
But this would be a period of
astonishing activity,
364
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,680
during which the values
of Renaissance Rome
365
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,440
would be severely tested.
366
00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:04,000
Hello. Hi there.
367
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,040
'The challenge began with
the astronomical cost
368
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,000
'of building the new St Peter's.'
369
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,960
The Renaissance had attracted
many more pilgrims to Rome,
370
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,440
and they brought in massive
new revenues,
371
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:20,240
but they were soon spent and
the Church needed much, much more.
372
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,880
'And so, in the early 16th century,
373
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,880
'the popes began exploiting
a uniquely papal practice
374
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:31,280
'to raise more money...'
375
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,400
Can I have this, please? Yes, sure.
How much is it?
376
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:36,000
20 Euro. 20 Euro, OK.
377
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000
'..the selling of indulgences.'
378
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,000
The practice had been around
since the 6th century.
379
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,840
It was simple. People would pay
to have their sins forgiven.
380
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,680
And it raised so much money that
they had an even brighter idea.
381
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,680
People would pay for sins they
hadn't even committed yet.
382
00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:58,800
OK? 25, sir.
383
00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,440
25, perfect. There we are.
384
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,040
'The papacy had turned sin
into a business.'
385
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,080
This abuse, taking place in
the heart of God's city,
386
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,200
outraged many Christians.
387
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,400
For years, the Renaissance popes
388
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,240
had thrived through decadence
and corruption.
389
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,200
But the selling of indulgences
would prove one step too far.
390
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,800
I've come to a palace
that defines the moment
391
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,040
Renaissance Rome came tumbling down.
392
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,400
The Villa Farnesina was
known as the Villa of Pleasure,
393
00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,240
and was frequently visited
by Julius's successor, Leo X.
394
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,400
Pope Leo was better at parties
than he was at politics.
395
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,160
"God has given us the papacy,"
he said,
396
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:14,960
"so let us enjoy it!"
397
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,080
And enjoy it he did.
398
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,160
He was a member of
the Medici banking family,
399
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:24,560
but in one year, he squandered
the entire savings of the papacy
400
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,120
on pleasures, on art,
and on gambling.
401
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,120
His reign marks the delicious climax
402
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,120
of the debauchery
of the Renaissance papacy.
403
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,120
The popes believed
they were invincible.
404
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:44,400
But they were wrong.
405
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,960
Their decadent version
of Christianity
406
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,200
did not go unnoticed by
Christians outside of Rome...
407
00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,240
..and the Renaissance was about
to reach an explosive finale.
408
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,920
One German monk visiting Rome
was particularly outraged.
409
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,480
His name was Martin Luther.
410
00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:14,360
Everything that the Renaissance
popes valued and nurtured for Rome,
411
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,680
Luther loathed.
412
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,400
Sexual pleasure, the beauty
of the human body,
413
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,320
the admiration for pagan art.
414
00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,640
And most disturbing of all,
415
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,840
the selling of the forgiveness
of sins.
416
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:40,960
The worst perpetrator of these
abominations was the Pope himself.
417
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,560
Luther said that far from being
God's representative on Earth,
418
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,200
he was an agent of the devil.
419
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,560
Luther returned
to his home town in Germany
420
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,720
and nailed his protest
to the church door,
421
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:57,640
thereby launching the movement
that became known as Protestantism.
422
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:01,040
He defied the Church, and
his Protestantism
423
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:06,360
would be the greatest challenge to
papal supremacy in all its history.
424
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,840
The papacy had little time
for Luther,
425
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,640
but it would not be long
before his protests
426
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,280
would shake the Church
to its foundations
427
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,320
and bring catastrophe to Rome.
428
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,600
Just upstairs is a long-hidden
piece of evidence
429
00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,800
of the horrific conclusion
of the Renaissance.
430
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:07,440
In the late 1990s, some art
restorers working on this room
431
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,800
uncovered some totally
fascinating graffiti...
432
00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:17,840
..which dates back to the year 1528.
433
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,640
Now, it's very hard
to decipher this,
434
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:24,440
and with apologies for
my hopeless German, it says,
435
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,280
"Was soll ich die schreiben
436
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:33,320
nit lachen die Landsknechten
haben den Papst laufen machen."
437
00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,480
The man who wrote this graffiti
is congratulating himself
438
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:41,880
and his mates.
439
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:45,040
He says, "Why shouldn't I laugh?
440
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,920
"We, the Landsknecht,
have set the Pope on the run."
441
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:59,120
The Landsknecht were a force
of German mercenaries
442
00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:02,400
sent to Italy by Emperor Charles V
443
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,360
as a warning to the inept
Medici Pope, Clement VII.
444
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,320
But in May 1527, they mutinied...
445
00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:16,160
..and stormed the city.
446
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,400
The Landsknecht were Protestants
447
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,760
who believed the Pope
was the Antichrist.
448
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,600
Infuriated by tales of
papal hedonism,
449
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:36,440
they ran amok in the satanic city.
450
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,360
The small papal army didn't
stand a chance
451
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,880
as the Landsknecht went berserk.
452
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,480
They slaughtered everyone
they encountered in the streets.
453
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,440
They disembowelled priests.
454
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,080
They turned monasteries
into brothels.
455
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,680
The Eternal City had become
Hell on Earth.
456
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,320
The Pope tried to
negotiate with them,
457
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,320
but no-one could stop the mayhem.
458
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,240
So, he escaped from the Vatican
along the passato,
459
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:29,840
this fortified passageway,
460
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,960
to seek refuge in
the Castel Sant'Angelo.
461
00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:41,440
And here he hid
for almost an entire year.
462
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,600
The Pope's health disintegrated.
463
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:55,040
Outside of the Castel,
Rome was ravaged.
464
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:58,120
The city was devastated.
465
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,880
The population halved
466
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,560
by hunger, murder and plague.
467
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,280
But, still, the troops
wouldn't leave,
468
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:14,720
and in December 1527, they said
that if they didn't get their money,
469
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:18,800
they'd hang their captains and
slice the Pope into pieces.
470
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,680
By this time, the Pope was starving,
471
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:28,240
blind in one eye and ridden
with liver disease.
472
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:36,920
He escaped from the Castel
Sant'Angelo disguised as a servant
473
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,560
and headed out of Rome to
the Papal residence at Orvieto.
474
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:48,280
The Pope had lost his splendour
and his power.
475
00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,720
The Holy City had lost its ruler,
its protector.
476
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:58,480
The Sack of Rome was the greatest
catastrophe in all its history.
477
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,320
The follies of the Renaissance popes
478
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,560
had brought the Eternal City
close to destruction.
479
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:14,600
On the 11th of February 1528,
the Landsknecht were finally paid
480
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,160
and the horde finally left.
481
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:18,960
The Pope returned to Rome.
482
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,280
The Sack of Rome was seen
as God's judgement,
483
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:25,400
even by the Pope himself.
484
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,200
Rome was being punished
for its sins.
485
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:31,720
Now, one thing was clear.
The Church would have to change.
486
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,240
The result was
the Catholic Reformation.
487
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:46,160
Dissidence and excess were now
brutally repressed.
488
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:47,960
For the moment, at least,
489
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:52,040
the orgies and mistresses were out,
austerity and chastity were in.
490
00:37:54,320 --> 00:38:00,280
The new severity was personified by
Paul IV, a brutal and pedantic prig
491
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,280
who regarded the ancient
monuments of Rome
492
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,480
as pagan and, therefore, heretical.
493
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,520
He said he would have liked to
destroy them all.
494
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:12,440
But worse, he was disgusted by
the naked private parts
495
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,160
of the Renaissance masterpieces,
496
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,360
and ordered many of them
to be painted over.
497
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,520
It is his fitting punishment that
history remembers him above all
498
00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,160
as the Fig Leaf Pope.
499
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:31,320
The curse of the fig leaf
is still visible today
500
00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,000
on Michelangelo's later work
in the Sistine Chapel.
501
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:41,440
The Last Judgment was the final
masterpiece of the Renaissance.
502
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:46,920
I think it's the finest celebration
503
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:49,760
of the grace and dignity
of the human body,
504
00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:54,920
but it also brutally reflects the
dystopic mayhem of the Sack of Rome.
505
00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,920
Its naked passions appalled
the Catholic Reformation
506
00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:03,080
and some of Michelangelo's
beautifully bare figures
507
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,320
now wear rather strategically
placed pieces of cloth.
508
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,640
And one previously naked woman
509
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,720
has had her modesty restored with
a rather frumpy green dress.
510
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,680
But the Catholic Reformation
attacked more than just art.
511
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,120
It unleashed the Roman Inquisition
on the Eternal City.
512
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:35,240
The Inquisition was set up to
enforce the doctrines of the Church
513
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:38,600
and destroy any heresies
or impurities.
514
00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:42,680
Peccadilloes that had been
overlooked or indulged
during the Renaissance
515
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:44,400
were now brutally punished.
516
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,880
Homosexuals were burnt alive.
517
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,200
Jews, who had lived peacefully
in Rome for 1,700 years,
518
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,160
were confined to a ghetto.
519
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,680
But the biggest challenge
to Roman supremacy
520
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:05,400
was the new rival branch
of Christianity.
521
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:15,120
As Protestantism spread, the papacy
resolved to fight it on every level,
522
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:18,520
from the world of art
to the battlefield.
523
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:23,800
In 1539, the Catholic Church
created a new militant wing.
524
00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:38,200
This is the Church of Saint Ignacio,
named after Ignacio Loyola,
525
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,680
a military man who believed that
the winning of Christian souls
526
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:44,680
could be conducted
like a military campaign.
527
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:49,200
So, he founded the Society
of Jesus, the Jesuits.
528
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,600
And a look at
this astonishing ceiling
529
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:55,200
tells you all you need to know
about the passionate energy
530
00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:56,600
of the Jesuit mission.
531
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:11,720
Saint Ignacio commands the centre,
empowered by Jesus Christ himself.
532
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:17,320
His heart radiates four sacred beams
that propel his female missionaries
533
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:20,440
to the four corners of the world
534
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,280
to slay the pagans.
535
00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:30,200
Indeed, the Jesuit mission was
international and universal.
536
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:32,600
It was to convert everyone.
537
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:38,120
It used both the sword
and the prayer book.
538
00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:46,840
The Jesuits valued education
above all else,
539
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:50,520
and used their sophisticated
analysis of human character
540
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,440
to win souls, defeat enemies,
541
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:56,400
and to defend and spread
papal authority.
542
00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:02,960
By the 17th Century,
543
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,680
the reach of Rome had spread
beyond its walls
544
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:07,840
to the four corners of the world.
545
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:15,800
The Renaissance may have passed,
546
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,960
but a new heyday now dawned
for the Holy City.
547
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:25,000
Rome was the heart of a new
Christendom. Not just Catholic,
548
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,600
but Roman Catholic.
549
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:34,960
The battle against Protestantism
would embellish Rome itself.
550
00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,640
The popes launched a new
and exhilarating war of culture.
551
00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:45,160
They championed an artistic movement
552
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,920
to project a new-found
intensity of passion
553
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:49,840
and ecstasy of revelation.
554
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:53,760
This new art was personified
by one man.
555
00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:01,000
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was
the master of baroque art.
556
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:02,960
Impulsive and emotional,
557
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:05,800
when he found his mistress was
having an affair with his brother,
558
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,120
he beat his brother up
with a crowbar
559
00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,600
and had her permanently scarred
with a razor blade.
560
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:17,640
But Bernini was adored by
Pope Urban VIII,
561
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:21,200
who told him, "You're lucky
to have me as Pope,
562
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,960
"but I'm even luckier to have you."
563
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:29,360
Their partnership was responsible
564
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:31,440
for much of what we see
in Rome today.
565
00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:36,280
Bernini, in many ways, is
to the 17th century
566
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:39,400
what Michelangelo had been
in the 16th century,
567
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,520
and he certainly was the best
interpreter
568
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,080
of the wishes of the popes.
569
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,400
Art historian Alexandra Massini
has brought me to see
570
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,680
the sculpture that Bernini
considered his masterpiece.
571
00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:56,880
It's called
The Ecstasy Of Saint Teresa.
572
00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:01,720
Tell me about this piece.
I mean, this is extraordinary.
573
00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:05,200
Well, this is really a very intense
religious experience
574
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:07,520
that is described by Saint Teresa
575
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,200
but, you know, if I read out
her own words
576
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:12,680
and you see the sculpture
that goes along with it,
577
00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:16,400
I think there's little ambiguity
as to what exactly is happening...
578
00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:18,400
So, let me just read this...
579
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:21,760
"I saw that he had a long
golden dart in his hand..."
580
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,920
She's referring to this angel
that she sees appearing.
581
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:30,000
"I thought that he pierced my heart
with this dart several times
582
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,520
"and in such a manner that it
went through my very bowels
583
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:37,120
"and when he drew it out, it seemed
as if my bowels came with it,
584
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:41,400
"and I remained wholly inflamed
with a great love of God.
585
00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:46,240
"The pain thereof was so intense
that it forced deep groans from me,
586
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:49,800
"but the sweetness which this
extreme pain caused in me
587
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:53,560
"was so excessive that there was
no desiring to be free from it."
588
00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:57,560
So, I think this is a very graphic
and very erotic rendering
589
00:44:57,560 --> 00:44:59,920
of an absolutely physical
experience.
590
00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:03,160
Now, this was very different
from, really, what had gone before,
591
00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:06,240
because we're coming out of
the Counter-Reformation,
592
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:10,560
a strict time, a severe time,
a time of a sort of moral crackdown,
593
00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:14,760
and suddenly we have
this explosion of sensual...
594
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,160
sensual extravagance, really.
595
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,520
The restraints of the
Counter-Reformation are long gone
596
00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:22,320
by this stage, and...
597
00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:25,920
What you are out to do is really
to draw in the viewer
598
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:28,120
and that's why you do things
599
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,200
that are absolutely theatrical
and absolutely dramatic,
600
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:33,840
and that explains why you have
such an erotic piece
601
00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:37,040
that ends up in a church, where
you would at least expect it.
602
00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:39,480
The viewer thinks... A modern-day
viewer would think,
603
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:43,080
"OK, this is something absolutely
secular. What is it doing
inside a church?"
604
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:46,760
But it is part, I think, of this
emotional sensibility that...
605
00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,040
people expected at the time,
606
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:51,240
even inside a church,
even from the faithful.
607
00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:53,920
It is part of the religious
picture of the time.
608
00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:56,240
Was this new sensibility of
the Catholic Church,
609
00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:58,160
represented by the baroque
and Bernini,
610
00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:01,280
really also a way of competing
with Protestantism?
611
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:03,040
It definitely was, yes.
612
00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:06,280
I think that whereas
the Protestants are really...
613
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:09,800
sticking to a literal reading
of the Bible,
614
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,240
here we have something
totally different. It is...
615
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:16,040
You reach God through the senses,
through opening up your heart,
616
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:20,400
through experiencing things
to the...to your bones, literally,
617
00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:24,360
and that, I think, is what makes
this work of art so powerful.
618
00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:26,600
Saying, "The Church can
give you this."
619
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:28,680
Exactly. The Church can
give you this.
620
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,040
And that's quite something.
Yes. Yes, indeed.
621
00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:39,520
The Church deployed every
available weapon
622
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,800
to win the battle of
Christian souls.
623
00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:47,360
But to complete Rome's status
as the ultimate Holy City,
624
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:51,160
there was one major task
left undone...
625
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:53,120
to finish the new St Peter's.
626
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:09,160
By 1610, the exterior was
finally complete.
627
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:19,200
115 years after Julius II had
knocked down the original,
628
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:23,120
a vast new structure
now dominated Rome's skyline.
629
00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:28,720
It proclaims the power and
confidence of the Catholic Church.
630
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,880
But the basilica still lacked
a centrepiece.
631
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:37,880
And it's here that Bernini
produced his masterpiece.
632
00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:55,800
The new basilica had been built
above the original tomb of St Peter.
633
00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:00,720
To honour the shrine which gave
Papal Rome its sanctity,
634
00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:04,080
Bernini created
this monumental canopy,
635
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:05,800
his baldacchino.
636
00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:25,200
There's something very thrilling
and powerful
637
00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:29,360
about this triumphalist piece
of architecture here.
638
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:32,680
It's not just declaring
the triumph of the Church
639
00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:35,320
and the majesty of the papacy,
640
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:38,280
but it's also pointing out
the connection
641
00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:40,440
between Rome and Jerusalem.
642
00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:49,080
These gorgeous curving pillars
are specially designed
643
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:53,880
as replicas of pillars from
the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.
644
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:58,280
And so, what Bernini is saying here
is that Rome is the new Holy City,
645
00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:00,240
Rome is the new Jerusalem.
646
00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:12,200
On the 18th of November 1626,
647
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:16,040
the vision of Julius II
was finally realised.
648
00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:25,880
20 popes later,
the new St Peter's was finished.
649
00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,680
Today, it remains the largest
church in the world.
650
00:49:35,680 --> 00:49:39,400
I think the gigantic force
of this church
651
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:42,480
defines Rome as
the capital of Christendom.
652
00:49:44,080 --> 00:49:47,280
An emblem of the success of
the Renaissance dream
653
00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:49,040
and global Catholicism.
654
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:55,960
Julius's gamble had paid off.
655
00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:07,680
By the 18th century,
656
00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:11,480
the story of the making of
the Holy City is almost complete.
657
00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:18,000
At first glance, Rome looked
very much like it does today...
658
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:23,320
..filled with tourists eager
to see its beautiful monuments.
659
00:50:25,160 --> 00:50:28,720
But there was one crucial difference
between then and now.
660
00:50:28,720 --> 00:50:31,400
The popes were still
the autocratic rulers
661
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:35,680
of their own swathe of Italian
territories - the Papal States.
662
00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:38,240
But all of that was about to change.
663
00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:47,200
In the mid 19th century,
664
00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:50,240
new ideologies were
sweeping across Europe,
665
00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:53,440
which would permanently alter
the shape of the Holy City...
666
00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:57,560
..republicanism and nationalism.
667
00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:03,040
They rejected the medieval
and sclerotic papal autocracy.
668
00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:11,720
Having already taken hold of France,
669
00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:15,440
the idea of a republican nation
was gathering momentum
670
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:18,800
across the separate states of
the Italian peninsula.
671
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:25,000
A doctor's son from the northern
city of Genoa named Giuseppe Mazzini
672
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:29,440
led the campaign to unite the
various kingdoms of the peninsula
673
00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:33,040
into just one country - Italy.
674
00:51:33,040 --> 00:51:36,240
And Mazzini believed
there could only be one capital.
675
00:51:36,240 --> 00:51:40,680
"Rome," he said, "was the national
centre of Italian unity,
676
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:44,840
"the dream of my young years,
the religion of my soul."
677
00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:55,880
If Mazzini succeeded,
he would end papal rule for ever.
678
00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:59,920
Not surprisingly, the Pope denounced
the new Italian nationalism
679
00:51:59,920 --> 00:52:02,200
and called on all Catholics
to reject it.
680
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:07,080
War was looming.
681
00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:13,760
In 1849, the Republican troops,
682
00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:17,320
led by the swashbuckling warlord
Giuseppe Garibaldi,
683
00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:18,880
descended on Rome.
684
00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:27,320
This time, the Pope had
a surprising ally
685
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:31,080
in his opposition to
Italian republicanism.
686
00:52:31,080 --> 00:52:34,920
France - now ruled
by Emperor Napoleon III,
687
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:38,160
nephew of the great
Napoleon Bonaparte.
688
00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:41,800
And when Rome fell to Garibaldi
and the Republicans,
689
00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:44,440
Napoleon sent an army
to get it back.
690
00:52:47,680 --> 00:52:51,640
They bombarded Rome
and, as chance would have it,
691
00:52:51,640 --> 00:52:56,160
a French cannon ball smashed right
in to the sumptuous great hall
692
00:52:56,160 --> 00:52:58,280
of Prince Colonna's Palace.
693
00:52:58,280 --> 00:53:02,120
Now, this is one of my
favourite secrets of Rome,
694
00:53:02,120 --> 00:53:04,840
because that Napoleonic cannonball
695
00:53:04,840 --> 00:53:08,960
embedded itself in Prince Colonna's
marble staircase...
696
00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:10,920
and it's still there to this day.
697
00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:21,480
Thanks to the support
of Napoleon III,
698
00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:23,720
the Pope still ruled Rome.
699
00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:29,520
But Mazzini's vision of Rome as
the capital of Italy lived on.
700
00:53:32,680 --> 00:53:36,960
In 1870, Napoleon III fell,
the French withdrew,
701
00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:41,120
and the army of the new nation
of Italy entered Rome.
702
00:53:44,920 --> 00:53:46,800
Commanded by Victor Emmanuel,
703
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:50,000
king of the newly-formed
Kingdom of Italy.
704
00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:53,960
He made Rome his capital,
while its former ruler, the Pope,
705
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:56,320
retreated behind the walls
of the Vatican,
706
00:53:56,320 --> 00:53:59,600
where he melodramatically
declared himself a prisoner.
707
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:08,680
Secularism had taken control
of the Holy City.
708
00:54:12,160 --> 00:54:16,040
A vast monument in honour
of King Victor Emmanuel
709
00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:19,320
was erected to dominate
the Rome of the past
710
00:54:19,320 --> 00:54:21,840
and dwarf its religious buildings.
711
00:54:24,560 --> 00:54:27,400
Grotesque it may be,
but its message was clear.
712
00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:32,320
Rome had new masters.
713
00:54:32,320 --> 00:54:34,880
The city no longer
belonged to the Pope.
714
00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,960
But the Pope was not going
to make this easy.
715
00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:50,440
Historian Anne Wingenter has been
studying this pivotal period
716
00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:51,600
in Rome's history.
717
00:54:52,760 --> 00:54:56,040
So, when King Victor Emmanuel,
King of Italy,
718
00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:59,280
arrived and united Rome with
the rest of Italy,
719
00:54:59,280 --> 00:55:01,400
how did that effect the Pope?
720
00:55:01,400 --> 00:55:04,240
Well, I mean, the Pope essentially
refused to recognise
721
00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:07,440
the Kingdom of Italy, and not
just this particular Pope
722
00:55:07,440 --> 00:55:10,240
when Rome was taken, but
the next several popes, and...
723
00:55:10,240 --> 00:55:14,200
they encourage Catholics, not just
in Italy, but around the world,
724
00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:17,120
not to recognise
the Kingdom of Italy.
725
00:55:17,120 --> 00:55:19,600
And threatening Italians with
ex-communication
726
00:55:19,600 --> 00:55:23,040
if they participate in
the political life of the state.
727
00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:24,880
You know, it's a real problem,
728
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:28,280
because there's a priest
in every village, you know,
729
00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:33,240
telling people that, you know,
the state is illegitimate.
730
00:55:33,240 --> 00:55:35,960
And the Pope retreats to
the Vatican Palace?
731
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:37,480
The popes stay in the Vatican,
732
00:55:37,480 --> 00:55:40,520
and they don't give the address
in St Peter's Square.
733
00:55:40,520 --> 00:55:45,600
They sort of cut the state off
from...the mother Church
734
00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:49,240
which, if you're a believing
Catholic, is...is a problem.
735
00:55:55,360 --> 00:55:59,800
The papacy and the kingdom would
be in a stand-off for 60 years.
736
00:56:03,280 --> 00:56:06,320
Surprisingly, the man who
solved the problem
737
00:56:06,320 --> 00:56:09,240
was the Fascist dictator
Benito Mussolini.
738
00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:18,280
Mussolini understood
the popularity of the Church
739
00:56:18,280 --> 00:56:21,560
would add to the legitimacy
of his fascist regime.
740
00:56:21,560 --> 00:56:25,400
So in 1929, he signed
the Lateran Pact with the Pope,
741
00:56:25,400 --> 00:56:27,960
that created the Vatican state.
742
00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:30,080
The border is right here.
743
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:32,920
Now, I'm standing in
the Republic of Italy,
744
00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:34,240
and when I cross the line...
745
00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:38,600
..now I'm standing
in the Vatican state,
746
00:56:38,600 --> 00:56:40,720
the Pope's own country.
747
00:56:44,880 --> 00:56:48,360
The Vatican state became
the world's smallest nation.
748
00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:52,360
At just 0.2 square miles,
749
00:56:52,360 --> 00:56:56,200
the new papal state was a miniature
of its former glories.
750
00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:04,000
But it meant that the Pope could
lead his billion global Catholics
751
00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,280
as an independent priest monarch.
752
00:57:16,200 --> 00:57:19,120
Now, for the first time
in Roman history,
753
00:57:19,120 --> 00:57:24,920
secular and sacred power
were separate in one Holy City.
754
00:57:24,920 --> 00:57:27,560
Espiritu Santo...
755
00:57:28,760 --> 00:57:33,200
In today's Rome, all the strands
of old and new come together.
756
00:57:38,120 --> 00:57:41,400
You can see it right here
on this street corner,
757
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:46,120
surrounded by tourists and yet,
nowadays, strangely overlooked.
758
00:57:46,120 --> 00:57:48,880
Right up there, you can see
Romulus and Remus,
759
00:57:48,880 --> 00:57:52,240
the founders of Ancient Rome,
and above them,
760
00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:55,680
the fasces, the symbols of fascism.
761
00:57:55,680 --> 00:57:59,080
And all of this on this
majestic thoroughfare
762
00:57:59,080 --> 00:58:03,320
leading straight to the magnificent
basilica of St Peter's.
763
00:58:06,160 --> 00:58:09,040
All of it, modern and ancient,
764
00:58:09,040 --> 00:58:13,040
now, together, seem
happily, typically, Roman.
765
00:58:15,400 --> 00:58:17,120
For three millennia,
766
00:58:17,120 --> 00:58:20,400
Rome has been the definition
of power and sanctity.
767
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:25,680
Rome, like Christianity's
other holy city, Jerusalem,
768
00:58:25,680 --> 00:58:28,880
is a place where man
meets the divine.
769
00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:32,400
Throughout its history,
770
00:58:32,400 --> 00:58:35,640
Rome's destiny has
been determined inseparably
771
00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:39,160
by both the cruel
necessities of power
772
00:58:39,160 --> 00:58:41,280
and by the passion of faith.
65858
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