his pet elephant, the cardinal he killed and his anal fistula
- Written by: Miles Pattenden, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry/Gender and Women's History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University
Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi, circa 1518The Capodimonte Museum/Wikimedia CommonsGiovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici, who died 500 years ago today, has a claim to be one of the most miscast popes of all time.
Perhaps the youngest pontiff of the last thousand years, he was the last non-priest to be...
Read more: his pet elephant, the cardinal he killed and his anal fistula