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Pope Leo X
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A sickly, and somewhat fatalistic man, Pope Leo X did have two well known passions: arts and the East. As a great patron of the arts, he sponsored the likes of Raphael and Michaelangelo, but ... spent many an hour learning about the ways and riches of the Arab world (lands that were best known to the Portuguese, whose expeditions he graciously blessed!). So 'Orientalia' of all sorts were gifts of choice for this Pope; and preferably 'live' ones, as the Pope's attachment to Hanno the Elephant demonstrated to all potential suitors
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In 1520, Pope Leo X commissioned Machiavelli to write a history of Florence. In 1525, Machiavelli presented Pope Clement VII with eight books comprising the origin of Florence up to 1492. It comes as little surprise that Machiavelli would stop at that date since the two popes largely wished to have a tracing of the de Medici family, of which they were both members. Machiavelli had very unsatisfactory resources in his research, and his work largely represent a large accumulation of material, not necessarily all definitely factual. Machiavelli's History is largely a political history devoting essentially no space to any artistic or societal events. Machiavelli's commission was an important part of his return to Florentine society.
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On June 15, 1520 Pope Leo X issued the papal bull "Exsurge Domine" and on January 3, 1521 excommunicated Martin Luther. This bull was widely ignored (and was publicly burned by Luther). The bull said the statement "That heretics be burned is against the will of the Spirit" was an error, thereby endorsing the burning of heretics [3]. Soon after this, the Pope fell ill with Malaria.
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His position gained considerable power with the election in 1513 of Giovanni de’ Medici as Pope Leo X. In 1514 he was given the Palazzo del Popolo in Cortona, which he immediately set about restoring. The same year the Pope granted him the authorisation to concede indulgencies in the cathedral of Santa Maria to whomever he pleased.
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Leo X is considered the only Pope who has bestowed his own name upon his age, and one of the few whose original extraction has corresponded in some measure with the splendour of the pontifical dignity. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici. His cousin Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, would become Pope Clement VII (1523–34).
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Leo X's unexpected death naturally gave rise to suspicions of poison. It was always a popular verdict, pleasantly exciting to the public, and where the medical profession was concerned served much the same purpose as the familiar heart-failure of modern days. This Pope showed no inclination to receive the sacraments during the few hours of his last illness. Some historians accuse him of having been an unbeliever and he certainly died like one, to the great scandal of the Roman people, who escorted his body with curses and forcible expressions of contempt. The glamour of the Renaissance at its apogee so envelops the figure of this Pontiff that he has been endowed with all its glory, just as that of Alexander VI has been charged with all the odium of his own times. But the veneer of civilisation was only superficial.
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Pope Leo X