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Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto
When we consider the life of a celebrity, especially a Pope, who lived over four hundred years ago we must not make the mistake of looking at his life with our modern attitudes and prejudices. As a religious who assumed the papacy, Sixtus V brought with him the customs and attitudes of his vocation. Sixtus' spirit of poverty and obedience would present a challenge to the more worldly Roman court, and he had also come from a humble background. In addition, few Popes had been in obscurity-and even disgrace- for fourteen years prior to their election. Sixtus V has perhaps been overshadowed by the more famous Popes, Julius II and Pius V. We know of contemporary biographies, which appear to be official versions of his life. In this new biography, W. T. Selley shows how Sixtus V was outstanding in his creation of Renaissance Rome, only fifty years after it had been sacked. He was outstanding, from the point of view of good civic policy and he greatly facilitated the path of pilgrims visiting the churches of Rome. Sixtus was abstemious and devout, living quietly with his widowed sister and earning the nickname of the Hermit of Villa Montalto. He was also very intelligent in his diplomacy. Sixtus' contribution to papal administration survived virtually intact into our own time. One only needs to look at so many of the monuments of Rome, the obelisks and fountains, the frescoes and Church façades, to get an awareness of the measure of this great Pope.
448 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2011
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October 19, 2025
British Historian W.T. Selley Examines The Life & Pontificate Of Felice Peretti, Elected Pope Sixtus V.
In the preface to W.T. Selley's posthumously published 2011 Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto, the author advises his reader not to judge his biography's subject with entirely modern attitudes & predispositions, & follows with a rather grim anecdote originating from the seventeenth-century writer Gregory Leti's Vita di Sisto V. He continues by offering an interesting description of Sixtus which emphasizes his personality by eloquently stating the qualities he did not possess: "Sixtus was not colourful in the manner of Julius II. He was not notorious, like Alexander VI. He was not outstandingly holy like Pius V, who, it is said, never spent more than six giulii on his meals. Nor was he responsible for the Sistine Chapel, the Sistine Choir or the Ponte Sisto (we must thank Sixtus IV for all of those). But as W.T. Selley shows, Sixtus V was outstanding in his creation of Renaissance Rome, only fifty years after it had been sacked. He was outstanding, from the point of view of good civic policy & he greatly facilitated the path of pilgrims visiting the churches of Rome."
Selley then articulates Sixtus' overall character & accomplishments in another interesting, well-worded passage: "Sixtus V was no villain, & perhaps no hero either, but in his five years as Pope he accomplished what few Popes before or since have been able to manage. Like Pope John XXIII, who became Pope at an advanced age, & was also to reign for just five years, he wanted to achieve as much as he could. The result puts Sixtus in the first rank of great reforming Renaissance Popes. It is sad that so many modern references emphasize his shortcomings & pay scant attention to his achievements. Samuel Johnson's words come to mind: 'Be kind, ye judges, or at least be just'. Sixtus' contribution to papal administration survived virtually intact into our own time. That in itself is remarkable. But you only need to look at so many of the monuments of Rome, the obelisks & fountains, the frescoes & Church façades, to get an awareness of the measure of this Pope."
This trade paperback edition of W.T. Selley's posthumously published 2011 Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto is printed by Gracewing, & features a 399-page main text that is divided into nine chapters & an epilogue. In lieu of having them all at the end of the book, extended notes are provided sequentially, at the end of each chapter. The study also includes an expanded glossary of relevant ecclesiastical & political terminology, as well as three appendices filled with useful information - The Family Tree of Felice Peretti, The Conclave of 1585, & Monetary values & Papal coinage. There is also an eight-page bibliography of Italian, French, German & English source material & an index at the back of the volume.
The study's first chapter, entitled Fra Felice, begins with Selley narrating the early life of the remarkable man who would eventually rise to attain the highest ecclesiastical position in the Catholic Church. Felice Piergentile, the man who would become Pope Sixtus V, was, according to general scholarly consensus, born on 13 December 1521 in a small village called Grottamere at the mouth of the Tesino River, located in Italy's March of Ancona region. He later changed his surname to Peretti in 1551. Felice came from humble beginnings, & his family had ties to a larger walled town, Montalto, & also to a nearby Francisan friary, which would in time play a vital role in his formal education. His father, Piergentile di Giacomo Peretti, could not afford the small fee to enroll him at the friary so he turned to the boy's uncle, Fra Salvatore, who was the establishment's guardiano, or warden, for assistance in receiving the necessary funds, & after beginning his education he proved to be an extremely intelligent pupil, quickly surpassing his classmates, according to Selley -- "He learned 'with incredible speed' as willing pupils often do from skilful teachers, & quickly acquired a facility in using the precepts of Cicero, Quintillian & Demosthenes to develop his oratory. Thus the eager boy in his teens grew up in a tiny earnest community, moving easily in & out of the small hill town where his relatives lived as well-respected & reputable citizens."
The author offers a brief description of the Franciscan Order & its offshoot confraternities, the Observants & the Capuchins, before resuming his interesting tale of Sixtus' education. Peretti finally left Montalto in 1537 to study abroad where scholars believe he may have traveled to Pesaro, Iesi, & possibly Fermo, before he began studying at the Universities of Ferrara & Bologna for three years & a year & a half, respectively. Eventually, in 1548 he took the examinations for both his Masters & Doctorate degrees in a mind-boggling four days, passing with flying colors, with the votes for his Doctorate degree going unanimously in his favor. Sixtus went on to win an important theological debate with Persico of Calabria, a detractor of the teachings of Aristotle, which were very much in favor during that period, & he became a favorite of Cardinal Rodolfo Carpi, the Protector of the Franciscan Order. Felice's success as a Franciscan Regent, or professor, was definitely winning him accolades, & in the following passage Selley speaks to this most eloquently: "Felice was establishing a reputation as a friar of determination, decision & firmness of judgement, who could be entrusted with important & difficult tasks where impartiality & integrity were needed. These duties & his preaching engagements were carrying him far afield & as he probably covered many of these journeys on foot, his powers of physical endurance were rapidly tested & developed."
Chapter 2, Called to Rome, discusses Sixtus' tenure at the Eternal City of Rome preaching the Lenten sermons, which led to a fateful encounter with the Dominican Inquisitor-General, Antonio Ghislieri, after someone accused Sixtus of being a liar in a note passed to the clergy during his sermon. Sixtus was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing & he had made a positive impression on Ghislieri, who would eventually become elected Pope Pius V. After Rome Felice Peretti traveled to Naples, where at the General Chapter of the Conventuals in 1553 he had been elected Regent of the Neapolitan friary. Selley then briefly explores the geography & culture of the Kingdom of Naples, comparing the population of Naples, its chief city, to those of other European cities as well as the importance of the imperial Viceroy, who ruled Naples in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Selley describes Sixtus' productive time spent in Naples in the following excerpt: "Here Felice spent three eventful years, directing the studies of the most able & earnest Franciscan scholars of the area, & here he preached regularly to critical & discerning congregations. He delivered a series of lectures on the Gospel of St John in which his exposition & his convincing orthodoxy attracted special note. His rising fame as a scholar created a demand for his sermons to be printed & when the Neapolitan press began to publish them his learning extended to wider audiences."
Eventually Felice was appointed to a Regency in Venice, where he worked with the Inquisition & ran into spirited resistance in his efforts to censor & control the literary manufacturing industry, as Venice was proud of its city's well-deserved reputation as one of the foremost book makers in Europe, & the Serenissima's government sought to thwart his every move to block certain writers from making their written works available to the Serenissima's citizens.
In Chapter 3, The Hermit of Villa Montalto Selley canvasses Felice's elevation at the age of forty-five to the esteemed office of Vicar-General of the Franciscan Order, an honor bestowed upon him when his dear friend, Cardinal Michele Ghislieri, was consecrated Pope Pius V on 14 September 1556. The future Pope Sixtus V now stood at the helm of a monolithic domain of responsibility, with twenty-eight provinces & four vicariates containing more than 20,000 ecclesiastics that were in his charge. As Vicar-General, by & large the most laudable aspect of his reputation was derived from his considerable talents as an academic & as a preacher -- his research on St. Matthew alone garnered 400 copies which were produced at the printing presses in Naples, & his lengthy sermons were so popular they saw translation into three languages - Latin, French & Spanish. He had traveled the length & breadth of the Italian Peninsula while still in his younger years, cementing his renown as a preacher & theological debater in churches & cathedrals where he touched the hearts & minds of the Catholics he came into contact with.
Selley's eloquent passage provides excellent context with which the reader can afford a glimpse into exactly what made Cardinal Felice Peretti such a compelling figure -- "His sermons were not distinguished by originality of subject matter nor, so far as can be judged from such records as remain, by strikingly logical development of reasoning or felicity of phrase. His subjects were generally doctrinal & his method dialectical; he concerned himself with fine points of belief; subtle distinctions & accurate definitions. His appeal was to the intellect which he stimulated with frequent quotations from the Fathers, he was erudite & analytical, rarely creative or emotive. The success of his preaching derived, it seems from his personal magnetism, the flash of his eyes, the force of his words, the attraction of his personality & outspokenness. He was listened to with awe, his argument was followed with eager respect & enthusiasm; crowds thronged to his pulpit to enjoy the vigour of his delivery. His appeal was personal, immediate, & perhaps ephemeral." W.T. Selley was proficient in painting a compelling literary portrait of his remarkable study's subject, & in this reviewer's own opinion it is his eloquent descriptions & thought-provoking appraisals that give this biography a special quality not readily possessed by many of its contemporaries.
Following the death of his dear friend Pius V in 1572, the papal throne became occupied by a man with whom Cardinal Peretti shared fundamental differences in character, beliefs, & temperament. Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was consecrated Pope Gregory XIII on 13 May 1572, & following his ascension, Felice began to isolate himself from the spotlight more & more over the next decade, attending fewer church councils & conclaves while becoming withdrawn from ecclesiastical politics, up until the next papal conclave elected him Pope Sixtus V in 1585. It is during this thirteen-year period of self-induced exile that historians believe he may have gained the enigmatic sobriquet, 'The Hermit of Villa Montalto'.
Chapters 6 & 7, A New Rome has Risen from the Ashes, & The Worth of his Ambitions, charts Sixtus's administrative policies & colossal building renovation projects which occurred during his five-year papacy. Following his consecration on 24 April 1585, Pope Sixtus embarked upon an extremely ambitious series of programmes which were designed to accomplish two main objectives -- he wanted to ensure the papal coffers were filled to excess & well prepared for any manner of enterprise or contingency the papacy chose to undertake, & he also fiercely desired to initiate a drastic urban renewal of the Eternal City, no matter the cost.
For the first, he implemented numerous fiscal reforms of papal finances in an effort to increase church revenue, including the unconcealed sale of ecclesiastical offices, a practice known as simony, & the foundation of a new public debt, called the monte, which would be auctioned off to wealthy shareholders & funded by levying a series of onerous taxes on the Roman citizens. This excerpt, which is from Chapter 6, The Worth of his Ambitions, aptly describes Sixtus's motivated, energetic approach to implementing his drastic policy reforms & expanding papal influence throughout Italy -- "He made the utmost use of his right of nomination to the highest ecclesiastical offices & used this power to stamp his personal policy & opinions throughout the ranks of the Church from himself to the Sacred College, from the College to the bishops & their clergy...Sixtus established a system of government by Committee in which the initiative was his. Opposition was largely illusory & organized resistance excluded. Success ensured the direct transmission of the Pope's personal ideals to the remotest parish & its congregation. The Holy Father loved his flock but he kept them under an eternally vigilant eye...His vision was as expansive as his energy was boundless."
To accomplish the second of his goals, he spends vast sums on architectural projects, renovations, & municipal improvements, even having an enormous aqueduct, the Acqua Felice, constructed in the classical Roman style, which brought fresh water to waterless areas surrounding Rome, & according to Wikipedia, it "..fed twenty-seven new fountains; laying out new arteries in Rome, which connected the great basilicas, even setting his engineer-architect Domenico Fontana to replan the Colosseum as a silk-spinning factory housing its workers." He had existing monuments & buildings unceremoniously reduced to rubble to provide his engineers with raw materials for the construction of his grandiose, reimagined Roman metropolis -- the 32-page Chapter 6, A New Rome has Risen from the Ashes is singularly devoted to his building projects alone.
Overall, W.T. Selley's Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto is an engaging, erudite biography of a pope that receives almost no attention in English studies. In order to fully enjoy this title it is suggested to have at least read a general history of the Reformation period, such as John Julius Norwich's Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy. The subject matter in Selley's study gravitates toward the academic side of the literary spectrum, but the author's effective organization & narrative skill render it a suitable choice for any reader who is curious to learn more about Sixtus's life & pontificate. For another exceptional title on a lesser-known Catholic Pope, R.A.J. Waddingham's Breakspear: The English Pope is a great choice for those who desire a more approachable, traditional biography with traditional narrative elements. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review!
In the preface to W.T. Selley's posthumously published 2011 Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto, the author advises his reader not to judge his biography's subject with entirely modern attitudes & predispositions, & follows with a rather grim anecdote originating from the seventeenth-century writer Gregory Leti's Vita di Sisto V. He continues by offering an interesting description of Sixtus which emphasizes his personality by eloquently stating the qualities he did not possess: "Sixtus was not colourful in the manner of Julius II. He was not notorious, like Alexander VI. He was not outstandingly holy like Pius V, who, it is said, never spent more than six giulii on his meals. Nor was he responsible for the Sistine Chapel, the Sistine Choir or the Ponte Sisto (we must thank Sixtus IV for all of those). But as W.T. Selley shows, Sixtus V was outstanding in his creation of Renaissance Rome, only fifty years after it had been sacked. He was outstanding, from the point of view of good civic policy & he greatly facilitated the path of pilgrims visiting the churches of Rome."
Selley then articulates Sixtus' overall character & accomplishments in another interesting, well-worded passage: "Sixtus V was no villain, & perhaps no hero either, but in his five years as Pope he accomplished what few Popes before or since have been able to manage. Like Pope John XXIII, who became Pope at an advanced age, & was also to reign for just five years, he wanted to achieve as much as he could. The result puts Sixtus in the first rank of great reforming Renaissance Popes. It is sad that so many modern references emphasize his shortcomings & pay scant attention to his achievements. Samuel Johnson's words come to mind: 'Be kind, ye judges, or at least be just'. Sixtus' contribution to papal administration survived virtually intact into our own time. That in itself is remarkable. But you only need to look at so many of the monuments of Rome, the obelisks & fountains, the frescoes & Church façades, to get an awareness of the measure of this Pope."
This trade paperback edition of W.T. Selley's posthumously published 2011 Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto is printed by Gracewing, & features a 399-page main text that is divided into nine chapters & an epilogue. In lieu of having them all at the end of the book, extended notes are provided sequentially, at the end of each chapter. The study also includes an expanded glossary of relevant ecclesiastical & political terminology, as well as three appendices filled with useful information - The Family Tree of Felice Peretti, The Conclave of 1585, & Monetary values & Papal coinage. There is also an eight-page bibliography of Italian, French, German & English source material & an index at the back of the volume.
The study's first chapter, entitled Fra Felice, begins with Selley narrating the early life of the remarkable man who would eventually rise to attain the highest ecclesiastical position in the Catholic Church. Felice Piergentile, the man who would become Pope Sixtus V, was, according to general scholarly consensus, born on 13 December 1521 in a small village called Grottamere at the mouth of the Tesino River, located in Italy's March of Ancona region. He later changed his surname to Peretti in 1551. Felice came from humble beginnings, & his family had ties to a larger walled town, Montalto, & also to a nearby Francisan friary, which would in time play a vital role in his formal education. His father, Piergentile di Giacomo Peretti, could not afford the small fee to enroll him at the friary so he turned to the boy's uncle, Fra Salvatore, who was the establishment's guardiano, or warden, for assistance in receiving the necessary funds, & after beginning his education he proved to be an extremely intelligent pupil, quickly surpassing his classmates, according to Selley -- "He learned 'with incredible speed' as willing pupils often do from skilful teachers, & quickly acquired a facility in using the precepts of Cicero, Quintillian & Demosthenes to develop his oratory. Thus the eager boy in his teens grew up in a tiny earnest community, moving easily in & out of the small hill town where his relatives lived as well-respected & reputable citizens."
The author offers a brief description of the Franciscan Order & its offshoot confraternities, the Observants & the Capuchins, before resuming his interesting tale of Sixtus' education. Peretti finally left Montalto in 1537 to study abroad where scholars believe he may have traveled to Pesaro, Iesi, & possibly Fermo, before he began studying at the Universities of Ferrara & Bologna for three years & a year & a half, respectively. Eventually, in 1548 he took the examinations for both his Masters & Doctorate degrees in a mind-boggling four days, passing with flying colors, with the votes for his Doctorate degree going unanimously in his favor. Sixtus went on to win an important theological debate with Persico of Calabria, a detractor of the teachings of Aristotle, which were very much in favor during that period, & he became a favorite of Cardinal Rodolfo Carpi, the Protector of the Franciscan Order. Felice's success as a Franciscan Regent, or professor, was definitely winning him accolades, & in the following passage Selley speaks to this most eloquently: "Felice was establishing a reputation as a friar of determination, decision & firmness of judgement, who could be entrusted with important & difficult tasks where impartiality & integrity were needed. These duties & his preaching engagements were carrying him far afield & as he probably covered many of these journeys on foot, his powers of physical endurance were rapidly tested & developed."
Chapter 2, Called to Rome, discusses Sixtus' tenure at the Eternal City of Rome preaching the Lenten sermons, which led to a fateful encounter with the Dominican Inquisitor-General, Antonio Ghislieri, after someone accused Sixtus of being a liar in a note passed to the clergy during his sermon. Sixtus was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing & he had made a positive impression on Ghislieri, who would eventually become elected Pope Pius V. After Rome Felice Peretti traveled to Naples, where at the General Chapter of the Conventuals in 1553 he had been elected Regent of the Neapolitan friary. Selley then briefly explores the geography & culture of the Kingdom of Naples, comparing the population of Naples, its chief city, to those of other European cities as well as the importance of the imperial Viceroy, who ruled Naples in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Selley describes Sixtus' productive time spent in Naples in the following excerpt: "Here Felice spent three eventful years, directing the studies of the most able & earnest Franciscan scholars of the area, & here he preached regularly to critical & discerning congregations. He delivered a series of lectures on the Gospel of St John in which his exposition & his convincing orthodoxy attracted special note. His rising fame as a scholar created a demand for his sermons to be printed & when the Neapolitan press began to publish them his learning extended to wider audiences."
Eventually Felice was appointed to a Regency in Venice, where he worked with the Inquisition & ran into spirited resistance in his efforts to censor & control the literary manufacturing industry, as Venice was proud of its city's well-deserved reputation as one of the foremost book makers in Europe, & the Serenissima's government sought to thwart his every move to block certain writers from making their written works available to the Serenissima's citizens.
In Chapter 3, The Hermit of Villa Montalto Selley canvasses Felice's elevation at the age of forty-five to the esteemed office of Vicar-General of the Franciscan Order, an honor bestowed upon him when his dear friend, Cardinal Michele Ghislieri, was consecrated Pope Pius V on 14 September 1556. The future Pope Sixtus V now stood at the helm of a monolithic domain of responsibility, with twenty-eight provinces & four vicariates containing more than 20,000 ecclesiastics that were in his charge. As Vicar-General, by & large the most laudable aspect of his reputation was derived from his considerable talents as an academic & as a preacher -- his research on St. Matthew alone garnered 400 copies which were produced at the printing presses in Naples, & his lengthy sermons were so popular they saw translation into three languages - Latin, French & Spanish. He had traveled the length & breadth of the Italian Peninsula while still in his younger years, cementing his renown as a preacher & theological debater in churches & cathedrals where he touched the hearts & minds of the Catholics he came into contact with.
Selley's eloquent passage provides excellent context with which the reader can afford a glimpse into exactly what made Cardinal Felice Peretti such a compelling figure -- "His sermons were not distinguished by originality of subject matter nor, so far as can be judged from such records as remain, by strikingly logical development of reasoning or felicity of phrase. His subjects were generally doctrinal & his method dialectical; he concerned himself with fine points of belief; subtle distinctions & accurate definitions. His appeal was to the intellect which he stimulated with frequent quotations from the Fathers, he was erudite & analytical, rarely creative or emotive. The success of his preaching derived, it seems from his personal magnetism, the flash of his eyes, the force of his words, the attraction of his personality & outspokenness. He was listened to with awe, his argument was followed with eager respect & enthusiasm; crowds thronged to his pulpit to enjoy the vigour of his delivery. His appeal was personal, immediate, & perhaps ephemeral." W.T. Selley was proficient in painting a compelling literary portrait of his remarkable study's subject, & in this reviewer's own opinion it is his eloquent descriptions & thought-provoking appraisals that give this biography a special quality not readily possessed by many of its contemporaries.
Following the death of his dear friend Pius V in 1572, the papal throne became occupied by a man with whom Cardinal Peretti shared fundamental differences in character, beliefs, & temperament. Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was consecrated Pope Gregory XIII on 13 May 1572, & following his ascension, Felice began to isolate himself from the spotlight more & more over the next decade, attending fewer church councils & conclaves while becoming withdrawn from ecclesiastical politics, up until the next papal conclave elected him Pope Sixtus V in 1585. It is during this thirteen-year period of self-induced exile that historians believe he may have gained the enigmatic sobriquet, 'The Hermit of Villa Montalto'.
Chapters 6 & 7, A New Rome has Risen from the Ashes, & The Worth of his Ambitions, charts Sixtus's administrative policies & colossal building renovation projects which occurred during his five-year papacy. Following his consecration on 24 April 1585, Pope Sixtus embarked upon an extremely ambitious series of programmes which were designed to accomplish two main objectives -- he wanted to ensure the papal coffers were filled to excess & well prepared for any manner of enterprise or contingency the papacy chose to undertake, & he also fiercely desired to initiate a drastic urban renewal of the Eternal City, no matter the cost.
For the first, he implemented numerous fiscal reforms of papal finances in an effort to increase church revenue, including the unconcealed sale of ecclesiastical offices, a practice known as simony, & the foundation of a new public debt, called the monte, which would be auctioned off to wealthy shareholders & funded by levying a series of onerous taxes on the Roman citizens. This excerpt, which is from Chapter 6, The Worth of his Ambitions, aptly describes Sixtus's motivated, energetic approach to implementing his drastic policy reforms & expanding papal influence throughout Italy -- "He made the utmost use of his right of nomination to the highest ecclesiastical offices & used this power to stamp his personal policy & opinions throughout the ranks of the Church from himself to the Sacred College, from the College to the bishops & their clergy...Sixtus established a system of government by Committee in which the initiative was his. Opposition was largely illusory & organized resistance excluded. Success ensured the direct transmission of the Pope's personal ideals to the remotest parish & its congregation. The Holy Father loved his flock but he kept them under an eternally vigilant eye...His vision was as expansive as his energy was boundless."
To accomplish the second of his goals, he spends vast sums on architectural projects, renovations, & municipal improvements, even having an enormous aqueduct, the Acqua Felice, constructed in the classical Roman style, which brought fresh water to waterless areas surrounding Rome, & according to Wikipedia, it "..fed twenty-seven new fountains; laying out new arteries in Rome, which connected the great basilicas, even setting his engineer-architect Domenico Fontana to replan the Colosseum as a silk-spinning factory housing its workers." He had existing monuments & buildings unceremoniously reduced to rubble to provide his engineers with raw materials for the construction of his grandiose, reimagined Roman metropolis -- the 32-page Chapter 6, A New Rome has Risen from the Ashes is singularly devoted to his building projects alone.
Overall, W.T. Selley's Sixtus V: The Hermit of Villa Montalto is an engaging, erudite biography of a pope that receives almost no attention in English studies. In order to fully enjoy this title it is suggested to have at least read a general history of the Reformation period, such as John Julius Norwich's Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy. The subject matter in Selley's study gravitates toward the academic side of the literary spectrum, but the author's effective organization & narrative skill render it a suitable choice for any reader who is curious to learn more about Sixtus's life & pontificate. For another exceptional title on a lesser-known Catholic Pope, R.A.J. Waddingham's Breakspear: The English Pope is a great choice for those who desire a more approachable, traditional biography with traditional narrative elements. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review!
May 10, 2022
This book had excellent detail around many of the issues of the 16th century and presents a lot of complexity around the situation of the Inquisition, especially in Venice, which I found most interesting.
Sixtus V made some interesting changes to Rome, which I will be interested in seeing next time I visit in person.
The life of Sixtus V was pretty eventful and helps portray a lot about the era and the culture within Italy.
I read this as part of my study of the Scientific Renaissance, and I think this book has proved a valuable asset for understanding the backstory.
Sixtus V made some interesting changes to Rome, which I will be interested in seeing next time I visit in person.
The life of Sixtus V was pretty eventful and helps portray a lot about the era and the culture within Italy.
I read this as part of my study of the Scientific Renaissance, and I think this book has proved a valuable asset for understanding the backstory.
May 15, 2016
Sixtus was born to a humble family in rural Italy. He rose through the Franciscan Order and the Inquisition, and served the Vatican in Naples and Venice. As Pope, he resisted Spanish dominance while avoiding open war. He built the dome of St Peter's, erected the obelisk, repaired Rome's roads, churches and aqueducts and made land available for development. He suppressed banditry by frequent hangings and by building cooperation with other Italian states. Had he lived longer, he would have drained swamps in the Papal States and built another bridge over the Tiber.
None of these ideas were new or imaginative, but Sixtus brought a sense of urgency, sensible priorities and dogged persistence. Alas, many of his initiatives died with him and were not to be realised for another three centuries. But he achieved a great deal in his five year reign, and left a full treasury to his successor.
None of these ideas were new or imaginative, but Sixtus brought a sense of urgency, sensible priorities and dogged persistence. Alas, many of his initiatives died with him and were not to be realised for another three centuries. But he achieved a great deal in his five year reign, and left a full treasury to his successor.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews