1 00:00:06,749 --> 00:00:09,118 male narrator: One of the most powerful men on earth 2 00:00:09,218 --> 00:00:12,121 holds a position that has existed 3 00:00:12,221 --> 00:00:14,257 for nearly 2,000 years. 4 00:00:17,727 --> 00:00:20,463 As the world changes and faith evolves, 5 00:00:20,563 --> 00:00:23,132 his authority remains. 6 00:00:23,232 --> 00:00:26,803 What began with one apostle 7 00:00:26,903 --> 00:00:31,908 has become 1.2 billion followers under one man. 8 00:00:31,974 --> 00:00:34,610 He is the head of the Catholic 9 00:00:34,710 --> 00:00:36,646 the pope. 10 00:00:36,746 --> 00:00:39,048 And this is his path to power. 11 00:01:19,789 --> 00:01:21,757 In this episode, 12 00:01:21,824 --> 00:01:26,262 never-before-seen orders sent from Rome to the New World 13 00:01:26,329 --> 00:01:31,534 expose the most scandalous popes in Vatican history 14 00:01:31,634 --> 00:01:34,370 and reveal how spectacular advancements 15 00:01:34,470 --> 00:01:37,773 in art, science, and exploration 16 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,210 are embroiled in webs of sex, bribery, 17 00:01:41,310 --> 00:01:43,546 and murderous rivalries. 18 00:01:58,327 --> 00:02:03,366 From the time of Saint Peter through the Middle Ages, 19 00:02:03,466 --> 00:02:06,536 popes act as beacons of faith, morality, 20 00:02:06,636 --> 00:02:10,640 and religious leadership. 21 00:02:10,706 --> 00:02:13,910 But as Church influence expands, 22 00:02:14,010 --> 00:02:15,311 the trappings of power 23 00:02:15,378 --> 00:02:18,648 will seduce even the godliest of men. 24 00:02:22,485 --> 00:02:27,023 In 1417, the papacy has been split 25 00:02:27,089 --> 00:02:31,827 between France and Italy for 40 years. 26 00:02:31,894 --> 00:02:35,565 But after the devastation of the Plague, 27 00:02:35,665 --> 00:02:38,501 Pope Martin V reunites the Church 28 00:02:38,568 --> 00:02:41,771 and begins to rebuild the once-great institution 29 00:02:41,871 --> 00:02:45,274 in the once-thriving city of Rome. 30 00:02:45,374 --> 00:02:49,912 - It was with the return of the papacy to Rome 31 00:02:50,012 --> 00:02:51,614 that its heart began to beat again. 32 00:02:51,714 --> 00:02:54,584 And it started to grow and to function 33 00:02:54,684 --> 00:02:57,753 as the center of the Western Church. 34 00:02:57,853 --> 00:03:00,089 And that was when the Renaissance 35 00:03:00,189 --> 00:03:02,425 really kicked in. 36 00:03:02,525 --> 00:03:05,428 - Very gradually, as Europe climbs back 37 00:03:05,528 --> 00:03:07,964 into economic activity, 38 00:03:08,064 --> 00:03:09,932 you start to see a class emerge 39 00:03:10,032 --> 00:03:12,268 with enough money to have aspirations to buy things. 40 00:03:12,368 --> 00:03:14,704 Luxury comes back on the scene. 41 00:03:14,770 --> 00:03:17,206 narrator: As a merchant class begins to rise, 42 00:03:17,273 --> 00:03:21,110 Europe ushers in an era or revolutionary advancements 43 00:03:21,210 --> 00:03:25,314 in art and science. 44 00:03:25,414 --> 00:03:28,884 Explorers set out in search of new lands. 45 00:03:29,719 --> 00:03:32,788 The first mechanical clock 46 00:03:32,888 --> 00:03:36,492 and the Gutenberg printing press are invented. 47 00:03:36,592 --> 00:03:37,627 - And on the walls of the churches, 48 00:03:37,727 --> 00:03:39,462 you start to see, for the first time, 49 00:03:39,562 --> 00:03:44,634 that when human beings appear, they're not just tiny. 50 00:03:44,734 --> 00:03:49,739 Man is standing a little closer next to God. 51 00:03:49,805 --> 00:03:54,010 narrator: And the man closest to God is the pope. 52 00:03:54,110 --> 00:03:56,512 - We owe some of the most significant art 53 00:03:56,612 --> 00:03:57,913 in Western history 54 00:03:57,980 --> 00:04:00,816 to the popes of the Renaissance. 55 00:04:00,916 --> 00:04:03,252 - It's the world of Michelangelo, 56 00:04:03,319 --> 00:04:05,755 Leonardo, Raphael. 57 00:04:05,821 --> 00:04:08,157 And a whole succession of popes 58 00:04:08,257 --> 00:04:11,360 act as patrons to this huge flowering 59 00:04:11,460 --> 00:04:13,863 of the Western imagination. 60 00:04:13,963 --> 00:04:17,199 - The Renaissance popes reshaped the city of Rome 61 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:19,769 into what we know it today. 62 00:04:19,835 --> 00:04:22,338 narrator: Today, upwards of 10 million tourists a year 63 00:04:22,438 --> 00:04:26,709 visit Rome to see the art and architecture 64 00:04:26,809 --> 00:04:30,279 commissioned by Renaissance popes: 65 00:04:30,346 --> 00:04:32,515 the Sistine Chapel, 66 00:04:32,615 --> 00:04:34,884 Capitoline Museums, 67 00:04:34,984 --> 00:04:37,353 and the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace, 68 00:04:37,453 --> 00:04:40,222 all built in the name of the Church 69 00:04:40,323 --> 00:04:43,526 during this time in European history. 70 00:04:43,626 --> 00:04:46,028 But the celebrated advancements 71 00:04:46,128 --> 00:04:50,633 in art and exploration come at a hefty price. 72 00:04:51,867 --> 00:04:54,570 - For all of the beauty and creativity 73 00:04:54,670 --> 00:04:56,906 that we think of now as the Renaissance, 74 00:04:57,006 --> 00:05:01,644 a lot of that work was financed by corruption. 75 00:05:01,711 --> 00:05:02,745 You want the Sistine Chapel? 76 00:05:02,845 --> 00:05:07,249 The Sistine Chapel was paid for by bribery. 77 00:05:07,350 --> 00:05:09,051 A lot of that beauty, 78 00:05:09,151 --> 00:05:12,588 the flip side of it was brutality. 79 00:05:12,688 --> 00:05:14,156 - The Church is very human, 80 00:05:14,223 --> 00:05:15,424 made up of sinful people 81 00:05:15,524 --> 00:05:17,660 who are striving to live a life 82 00:05:17,727 --> 00:05:19,161 according to the Spirit, 83 00:05:19,228 --> 00:05:21,764 and yet, we fall. 84 00:05:21,864 --> 00:05:26,102 And big men with big titles fall. 85 00:05:28,504 --> 00:05:30,606 - We always have to remember 86 00:05:30,706 --> 00:05:32,608 that this history about the papacy 87 00:05:32,708 --> 00:05:35,277 is not always a good history. 88 00:05:35,378 --> 00:05:36,779 narrator: Behind the iconic images 89 00:05:36,879 --> 00:05:39,281 of the 15th and 16th centuries 90 00:05:39,382 --> 00:05:42,451 lie webs of scandal, violence, and depravity 91 00:05:42,551 --> 00:05:46,021 surrounding the popes at that time. 92 00:05:46,088 --> 00:05:47,757 - The thing you have to really remember 93 00:05:47,857 --> 00:05:48,791 about this moment in history 94 00:05:48,891 --> 00:05:52,461 is, there is no other game in town but Catholicism. 95 00:05:52,561 --> 00:05:56,599 So the higher up you get in this organization, 96 00:05:56,699 --> 00:05:59,802 which is kind of multinational by this time, 97 00:05:59,902 --> 00:06:01,971 the more important your influence is. 98 00:06:02,071 --> 00:06:06,542 And the pope is the CEO of this global institution. 99 00:06:06,609 --> 00:06:08,444 - And Italy at this time 100 00:06:08,544 --> 00:06:11,480 was an unbelievably dangerous place 101 00:06:11,580 --> 00:06:14,316 to be an important person. 102 00:06:14,417 --> 00:06:16,152 narrator: Throughout the Renaissance, 103 00:06:16,252 --> 00:06:18,921 the Church amasses an exorbitant amount of wealth 104 00:06:18,988 --> 00:06:20,489 through property holdings. 105 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:22,625 Churches act as local banks. 106 00:06:22,725 --> 00:06:25,327 They hand out loans, collect tithes, 107 00:06:25,428 --> 00:06:27,963 and sit on vast reserves of gold and silver 108 00:06:28,063 --> 00:06:31,801 reaped through political alliances. 109 00:06:31,901 --> 00:06:33,502 With the Church's swelling wealth 110 00:06:33,602 --> 00:06:35,004 comes immense power, 111 00:06:35,104 --> 00:06:38,641 and Europeans stop at nothing to gain favor with the Church 112 00:06:38,741 --> 00:06:40,409 and garner influence within it. 113 00:06:40,476 --> 00:06:42,845 - If you read Shakespeare 114 00:06:42,945 --> 00:06:44,680 and you read Jacobean drama, stuff like that, 115 00:06:44,780 --> 00:06:48,184 Italy at the time becomes this shorthand 116 00:06:48,284 --> 00:06:51,153 for evil and grotesque double-dealing 117 00:06:51,253 --> 00:06:52,254 and poisoning. 118 00:06:52,321 --> 00:06:54,924 - Italy at this time is, of course, not a country. 119 00:06:54,990 --> 00:06:56,525 She's a set of little city-states. 120 00:06:56,625 --> 00:07:01,163 And the basic tool of loyalty in all of these places 121 00:07:01,263 --> 00:07:03,532 is family, family. 122 00:07:03,632 --> 00:07:05,868 You know, the mafia doesn't grow out of Italy 123 00:07:05,968 --> 00:07:07,870 for no reason at all. 124 00:07:10,039 --> 00:07:12,374 narrator: The families that control these city-states 125 00:07:12,475 --> 00:07:14,677 are in constant competition with one another 126 00:07:14,777 --> 00:07:16,512 for money, land, 127 00:07:16,612 --> 00:07:21,217 and most importantly, power. 128 00:07:21,317 --> 00:07:23,552 - The most important city-states were Milan, 129 00:07:23,652 --> 00:07:26,055 run by Sforza family; 130 00:07:26,155 --> 00:07:28,858 Florence, which came under the domination 131 00:07:28,958 --> 00:07:31,227 of the Medici family; 132 00:07:31,327 --> 00:07:32,895 and there was Rome, 133 00:07:32,995 --> 00:07:36,532 which was the kingdom in which the king was the pope. 134 00:07:40,836 --> 00:07:45,407 narrator: Today we don't often think of popes as family men, 135 00:07:45,508 --> 00:07:46,976 but in the 1400s, 136 00:07:47,042 --> 00:07:50,479 it was extremely common for popes to have children. 137 00:07:50,546 --> 00:07:52,882 - It's pre- the Victorian moment 138 00:07:52,982 --> 00:07:54,717 and the Puritan moment. 139 00:07:54,817 --> 00:07:56,252 So all of these people 140 00:07:56,352 --> 00:07:58,921 who are running this big institution, 141 00:07:59,021 --> 00:08:01,924 many of whom have come from top-notch families, 142 00:08:02,024 --> 00:08:07,096 cannot get married, and they understand that. 143 00:08:07,196 --> 00:08:10,432 But that doesn't appear to mean chaste, 144 00:08:10,533 --> 00:08:13,002 because the pope would have children. 145 00:08:13,068 --> 00:08:14,904 narrator: By stacking the College of Cardinals 146 00:08:15,004 --> 00:08:16,605 with sons and nephews, 147 00:08:16,705 --> 00:08:18,107 popes are able to ensure 148 00:08:18,207 --> 00:08:21,577 that their families stay in power. 149 00:08:21,677 --> 00:08:23,279 - There is a great problem 150 00:08:23,379 --> 00:08:26,115 when the papacy changes between families. 151 00:08:26,215 --> 00:08:27,750 Rome can become a very dangerous, 152 00:08:27,850 --> 00:08:29,451 even violent place there, 153 00:08:29,552 --> 00:08:30,686 where the faction that's controlled the Vatican 154 00:08:30,753 --> 00:08:34,456 finds itself under threat. 155 00:08:34,557 --> 00:08:39,094 - I think the Pazzi conspiracy is a beautiful microcosm 156 00:08:39,194 --> 00:08:43,465 of how crazy a place Renaissance Italy was. 157 00:08:51,607 --> 00:08:53,142 narrator: By the 1470s, 158 00:08:53,242 --> 00:08:55,444 the Italian families had been embroiled 159 00:08:55,544 --> 00:08:58,547 in power struggles for generations. 160 00:08:58,614 --> 00:09:01,216 And the newly appointed Pope Sixtus IV, 161 00:09:01,283 --> 00:09:03,986 a member of the ambitious della Rovere family, 162 00:09:04,086 --> 00:09:08,157 feels an imminent threat from one of his rivals. 163 00:09:08,257 --> 00:09:11,660 - There's conflict with the Medicis. 164 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,896 - The Medici family, 165 00:09:13,963 --> 00:09:15,397 they were kind of a messy family. 166 00:09:15,464 --> 00:09:16,799 I think about them as being the "Dynasty" 167 00:09:16,899 --> 00:09:19,835 of the Renaissance. 168 00:09:19,935 --> 00:09:21,136 narrator: The Medicis had interfered 169 00:09:21,236 --> 00:09:25,507 with some business dealings of the della Roveres. 170 00:09:25,608 --> 00:09:28,644 - One of Pope Sixtus's many nephews 171 00:09:28,744 --> 00:09:32,514 is a vicious nut case. 172 00:09:32,615 --> 00:09:34,516 Says, "The answer to our problems is, 173 00:09:34,617 --> 00:09:36,852 "get rid of the Medici. 174 00:09:36,952 --> 00:09:40,990 Get rid of this headache. 175 00:09:41,090 --> 00:09:42,358 - This is just a stupid idea. 176 00:09:42,458 --> 00:09:45,694 I mean, the Medici clan was huge. 177 00:09:45,794 --> 00:09:49,331 - The pope agreed to the murder 178 00:09:49,431 --> 00:09:54,770 of Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother. 179 00:09:54,837 --> 00:09:56,705 narrator: The della Roveres recruit members 180 00:09:56,805 --> 00:09:58,207 of the Pazzi family, 181 00:09:58,307 --> 00:10:01,877 another Italian banking empire. 182 00:10:01,977 --> 00:10:05,280 - The second-wealthiest family in Florence was the Pazzi, 183 00:10:05,347 --> 00:10:06,281 who resented the Medici, 184 00:10:06,348 --> 00:10:08,550 because they felt that the Medici 185 00:10:08,651 --> 00:10:09,952 had unfair advantages. 186 00:10:10,019 --> 00:10:12,855 narrator: On Sunday, April 26, 1478... 187 00:10:16,692 --> 00:10:19,862 The assailants attacked the Medici brothers 188 00:10:19,962 --> 00:10:22,698 at a mass in Florence. 189 00:10:22,798 --> 00:10:25,868 - The conspirators attacked and killed the brother 190 00:10:25,968 --> 00:10:29,338 and attacked Lorenzo, who escaped. 191 00:10:31,807 --> 00:10:34,543 - Lorenzo musters his troops. 192 00:10:34,643 --> 00:10:37,379 They quickly capture the main conspirators 193 00:10:37,479 --> 00:10:38,480 and the murderers, 194 00:10:38,547 --> 00:10:42,251 and they're summarily executed. 195 00:10:42,351 --> 00:10:44,987 narrator: And on August 6, 1492, 196 00:10:45,054 --> 00:10:47,489 just three days after Columbus set sail 197 00:10:47,556 --> 00:10:48,924 for the New World, 198 00:10:49,024 --> 00:10:50,759 with the wealthiest Italian families 199 00:10:50,859 --> 00:10:53,095 entangled in murderous rivalries 200 00:10:53,195 --> 00:10:55,664 and the power to rule all of Europe and the Americas 201 00:10:55,731 --> 00:10:58,000 at stake, 202 00:10:58,067 --> 00:10:59,935 23 cardinals embark 203 00:11:00,035 --> 00:11:04,506 upon one of the most ruthless conclaves in Vatican history. 204 00:11:14,850 --> 00:11:19,788 narrator: In August of 1492, 205 00:11:19,888 --> 00:11:23,292 23 cardinals must elect a new pope, 206 00:11:23,392 --> 00:11:29,598 who will lead more Catholics than the world has ever known. 207 00:11:29,698 --> 00:11:33,135 - The cardinals will live in the Sistine Chapel 208 00:11:33,235 --> 00:11:36,038 until they finally decide who's pope. 209 00:11:36,105 --> 00:11:40,943 So it's a very intense hothouse. 210 00:11:41,043 --> 00:11:42,978 narrator: Every powerful Italian family 211 00:11:43,078 --> 00:11:47,216 has a seat at the table and a horse in the race. 212 00:11:47,282 --> 00:11:50,285 - The two most powerful factions at this conclave, 213 00:11:50,385 --> 00:11:55,324 one was led by a cardinal named Ascanio Sforza. 214 00:11:55,424 --> 00:12:00,162 And Sforza's primary rival was Giuliano della Rovere. 215 00:12:02,097 --> 00:12:03,999 narrator: And Giuliano della Rovere, 216 00:12:04,099 --> 00:12:07,336 the nephew of Sixtus IV, the vicious pope 217 00:12:07,436 --> 00:12:09,805 who called for the violent removal of his rival, 218 00:12:09,905 --> 00:12:15,277 has inherited his uncle's blind ambition. 219 00:12:15,344 --> 00:12:17,746 - della Rovere had a very powerful personality. 220 00:12:17,813 --> 00:12:21,650 - He's very smart, and he's very ruthless. 221 00:12:23,819 --> 00:12:28,590 narrator: Determined to swing the conclave in his favor, 222 00:12:28,657 --> 00:12:30,993 Giuliano della Rovere begins handing out bribes 223 00:12:31,093 --> 00:12:34,930 in exchange for votes. 224 00:12:34,997 --> 00:12:37,199 - Although the matter may finally be 225 00:12:37,299 --> 00:12:38,867 about God and heaven, 226 00:12:38,967 --> 00:12:40,869 this is an earthly institution, 227 00:12:40,969 --> 00:12:44,706 and it's run by men, 228 00:12:44,807 --> 00:12:47,509 and it has a power structure attached to it. 229 00:12:47,609 --> 00:12:51,380 And whenever in history you introduce power structures, 230 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:52,848 you will find forms of corruption. 231 00:12:52,948 --> 00:12:55,851 narrator: But while della Rovere and Sforza 232 00:12:55,951 --> 00:12:58,887 wheeled and dealed center stage, 233 00:12:58,987 --> 00:13:02,858 another candidate begins to form his own campaign 234 00:13:02,958 --> 00:13:03,859 behind the scenes. 235 00:13:03,959 --> 00:13:07,896 - Rodrigo Borgia... 236 00:13:07,996 --> 00:13:10,365 was both an insider 237 00:13:10,465 --> 00:13:14,069 and a dark horse at the same time. 238 00:13:14,169 --> 00:13:15,904 narrator: Rodrigo Borgia is a Spanish Cardinal 239 00:13:16,004 --> 00:13:18,974 who had steadily risen through the ranks of the Church 240 00:13:19,041 --> 00:13:21,043 since he was a teenager. 241 00:13:21,143 --> 00:13:25,247 - He had been through five papacies. 242 00:13:25,347 --> 00:13:27,749 The most important, powerful member 243 00:13:27,850 --> 00:13:29,718 of the Vatican bureaucracy. 244 00:13:29,818 --> 00:13:31,887 But he was a Spaniard, 245 00:13:31,987 --> 00:13:36,525 That makes him an outsider. 246 00:13:36,592 --> 00:13:38,427 narrator: But despite being an outsider, 247 00:13:38,527 --> 00:13:41,897 Borgia is an experienced Vatican politician. 248 00:13:41,997 --> 00:13:43,899 On day four of the conclave, 249 00:13:43,999 --> 00:13:46,001 the Spanish cardinal makes his move. 250 00:13:50,539 --> 00:13:54,076 - In the middle of the night, six mules loaded with silver 251 00:13:54,176 --> 00:13:57,212 leave the Borgia palace in Rome 252 00:13:57,279 --> 00:13:59,581 and trot along the streets 253 00:13:59,681 --> 00:14:02,451 to the palace of Ascanio Sforza, 254 00:14:02,551 --> 00:14:05,387 cardinal, and one of his rivals. 255 00:14:07,189 --> 00:14:10,125 And it is absolutely clear 256 00:14:10,225 --> 00:14:11,793 that somewhere underneath there, 257 00:14:11,894 --> 00:14:13,095 a deal has been done. 258 00:14:25,374 --> 00:14:29,544 Rodrigo Borgia bought his way into the papacy. 259 00:14:29,611 --> 00:14:31,813 narrator: Borgia's first order of business 260 00:14:31,914 --> 00:14:33,649 as Pope Alexander VI 261 00:14:33,749 --> 00:14:35,050 is to surround himself with a network 262 00:14:35,117 --> 00:14:38,287 of people he trusts. 263 00:14:38,387 --> 00:14:41,823 Like many powerful men of the era--and today-- 264 00:14:41,924 --> 00:14:43,225 Borgia places his children 265 00:14:43,292 --> 00:14:47,129 in the highest ranks of his council. 266 00:14:47,229 --> 00:14:48,997 - He had some of his children 267 00:14:49,097 --> 00:14:52,501 marry important princes in other dominions. 268 00:14:52,601 --> 00:14:54,336 He made his one son a cardinal 269 00:14:54,436 --> 00:14:57,339 and gave him all kinds of Church income. 270 00:14:57,439 --> 00:14:59,141 - It is a story of nepotism, really. 271 00:14:59,241 --> 00:15:03,512 People ask, how could these kind of venal arrivistes 272 00:15:03,612 --> 00:15:06,915 take over the Vatican City?" 273 00:15:09,251 --> 00:15:11,687 narrator: Flanked by his children, 274 00:15:11,787 --> 00:15:16,758 Pope Alexander VI prepares build a Borgia dynasty. 275 00:15:16,825 --> 00:15:19,127 - The hierarchy of the Church is about making sure 276 00:15:19,194 --> 00:15:23,332 that the papacy stays powerful. 277 00:15:23,432 --> 00:15:24,700 And we have a global, 278 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,035 multinational company operating. 279 00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:31,206 It needs a vast administration. 280 00:15:31,306 --> 00:15:34,443 - Pope Alexander VI is the father, 281 00:15:34,509 --> 00:15:39,014 almost the creator of modern diplomacy. 282 00:15:39,114 --> 00:15:40,182 He introduced the practice 283 00:15:40,282 --> 00:15:45,153 of stationing the prototypical ambassadors 284 00:15:45,220 --> 00:15:48,056 at the city-states, to live there. 285 00:15:48,156 --> 00:15:50,359 And then he started doing that 286 00:15:50,459 --> 00:15:53,028 with the major north European capitals. 287 00:15:53,128 --> 00:15:54,296 narrator: Each of his ambassadors 288 00:15:54,363 --> 00:15:58,200 live amongst the clergy in their various stations 289 00:15:58,300 --> 00:16:01,536 and report back to the Vatican. 290 00:16:01,636 --> 00:16:03,538 Just weeks into his papacy, 291 00:16:03,638 --> 00:16:09,378 Alexander VI has consolidated his power across Europe... 292 00:16:09,478 --> 00:16:12,247 and he does not intend to stop there. 293 00:16:14,316 --> 00:16:16,585 - The New World is discovered, 294 00:16:16,685 --> 00:16:21,089 and Columbus is instructed to write letters to the pope, 295 00:16:21,189 --> 00:16:23,091 sort of chatty little travelogues 296 00:16:23,191 --> 00:16:25,193 about all the things that he's seeing 297 00:16:25,260 --> 00:16:27,496 and who the natives are and what they look like 298 00:16:27,562 --> 00:16:30,265 and how fascinating they are. 299 00:16:30,365 --> 00:16:32,067 He's filling in the pope 300 00:16:32,167 --> 00:16:33,769 in order to soften up the pope 301 00:16:33,869 --> 00:16:35,771 towards the Spanish perspective, 302 00:16:35,871 --> 00:16:38,106 because the Portuguese and the Spanish are spatting 303 00:16:38,206 --> 00:16:41,910 about who is going to own what. 304 00:16:42,010 --> 00:16:43,945 - This got very ugly and very tense, 305 00:16:44,046 --> 00:16:47,282 and it seemed likely to result in war. 306 00:16:47,382 --> 00:16:49,851 - They turned to the papacy, to Alexander VI, 307 00:16:49,918 --> 00:16:53,622 to adjudicate the international boundary. 308 00:16:53,722 --> 00:16:57,125 - It's the pope who literally draws the line 309 00:16:57,225 --> 00:16:58,794 on the map of the ocean. 310 00:16:58,894 --> 00:17:03,532 - Everything east of that line belonged to Portugal. 311 00:17:03,598 --> 00:17:07,969 And that's how Brazil came to be a Portuguese colony. 312 00:17:11,706 --> 00:17:14,476 narrator: On May 12, 1493, 313 00:17:14,576 --> 00:17:20,115 Pope Alexander VI issues the Inter caetera. 314 00:17:20,215 --> 00:17:24,119 The first papal bull grants the majority of the New World 315 00:17:24,219 --> 00:17:27,556 to his homeland. 316 00:17:27,622 --> 00:17:30,225 - The Spanish have the lion's share. 317 00:17:30,292 --> 00:17:32,627 And blow me down, but if the pope 318 00:17:32,727 --> 00:17:35,330 doesn't also get a Spanish bride 319 00:17:35,430 --> 00:17:38,166 for his second son. 320 00:17:38,266 --> 00:17:39,668 narrator: The papal order, 321 00:17:39,768 --> 00:17:41,503 which leads to hundreds of years 322 00:17:41,603 --> 00:17:44,239 of pillaging and destruction of native lands, 323 00:17:44,306 --> 00:17:48,143 is still controversial today. 324 00:17:48,243 --> 00:17:49,845 The world will soon learn 325 00:17:49,945 --> 00:17:52,013 that all of Borgia's accomplishments 326 00:17:52,114 --> 00:17:54,116 come with a price. 327 00:18:03,325 --> 00:18:04,759 narrator: When Rodrigo Borgia 328 00:18:04,826 --> 00:18:09,531 becomes Pope Alexander VI in 1492, 329 00:18:09,631 --> 00:18:14,336 he ushers in an era of extreme duality. 330 00:18:14,436 --> 00:18:15,470 He brings astonishing advancements 331 00:18:15,537 --> 00:18:19,374 in art and technology into the Vatican, 332 00:18:19,474 --> 00:18:22,377 alongside a culture of corruption, nepotism, 333 00:18:22,477 --> 00:18:26,181 and brutal politicking. 334 00:18:26,281 --> 00:18:28,350 - He knew how to terrify people. 335 00:18:28,450 --> 00:18:31,453 He knew how to bully people. 336 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,288 But he was a very astute politician. 337 00:18:33,355 --> 00:18:37,792 - He was like a mafia don, 338 00:18:37,859 --> 00:18:41,396 like Marlon Brando in "The Godfather," 339 00:18:41,496 --> 00:18:44,232 somebody who enjoyed the trappings of power. 340 00:18:44,332 --> 00:18:45,967 Often a very good administrator 341 00:18:46,034 --> 00:18:48,203 is somebody who wants to get very rich themselves. 342 00:18:50,338 --> 00:18:52,307 - Corruption is two-fold. 343 00:18:52,374 --> 00:18:55,343 It's financial and sexual. 344 00:18:57,145 --> 00:18:58,880 narrator: One of the most salacious stories 345 00:18:58,980 --> 00:19:01,983 to come out of the Borgia papacy 346 00:19:02,050 --> 00:19:04,819 is the Banquet of the Chestnuts. 347 00:19:04,886 --> 00:19:08,890 - The story is that it was a party 348 00:19:08,990 --> 00:19:12,928 at which dozens of prostitutes were invited, 349 00:19:13,028 --> 00:19:14,262 and everybody got naked, 350 00:19:14,362 --> 00:19:16,398 and all sorts of things happened, 351 00:19:16,498 --> 00:19:19,267 somehow involving chestnuts. 352 00:19:19,367 --> 00:19:24,272 And supposedly, Pope Alexander was present. 353 00:19:24,372 --> 00:19:26,174 narrator: Though the tale of the banquet 354 00:19:26,241 --> 00:19:29,177 is met with doubt, 355 00:19:29,244 --> 00:19:31,112 the story of the pope's mistress 356 00:19:31,213 --> 00:19:35,283 who took up residency in the Vatican is undisputed. 357 00:19:35,383 --> 00:19:39,454 - Giulia Farnese was a beautiful young member 358 00:19:39,554 --> 00:19:42,123 of an important Italian family. 359 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,630 And when Rodrigo became pope, 360 00:19:48,730 --> 00:19:53,134 among the young men he appointed cardinals, 361 00:19:53,235 --> 00:19:57,305 one was Giulia's brother. 362 00:19:57,405 --> 00:20:00,308 This was a way of buying the girl. 363 00:20:00,408 --> 00:20:01,710 "I'll make you a cardinal, 364 00:20:01,776 --> 00:20:06,448 you let me have her as a mistress." 365 00:20:06,548 --> 00:20:08,383 Rodrigo was 60 at the time. 366 00:20:08,450 --> 00:20:10,952 She was 15. 367 00:20:11,052 --> 00:20:14,656 She lived in the papal palace with the other young Borgias. 368 00:20:14,756 --> 00:20:19,160 He had at least one child with her. 369 00:20:19,261 --> 00:20:22,831 - To us, that looks like a bundle of contradictions. 370 00:20:22,931 --> 00:20:24,566 How can you be conventionally pious 371 00:20:24,633 --> 00:20:28,803 and yet be living this kind of contradiction? 372 00:20:28,903 --> 00:20:30,739 It's a kind of Latin distinction 373 00:20:30,805 --> 00:20:32,607 between the man and the office. 374 00:20:32,674 --> 00:20:35,977 People managed to respect the office 375 00:20:36,077 --> 00:20:40,015 while being aware that the people who occupy it 376 00:20:40,115 --> 00:20:42,250 were extremely fallible. 377 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,856 - The modern man has some trouble with this. 378 00:20:47,956 --> 00:20:51,359 Jesus himself was both god and man. 379 00:20:51,459 --> 00:20:56,031 The person is both body and soul. 380 00:20:56,131 --> 00:21:00,001 The Church is both justice, the law, 381 00:21:00,101 --> 00:21:02,604 and mercy, forgiveness of sins. 382 00:21:02,671 --> 00:21:05,340 - There was a sense in which sin was automatic. 383 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,342 Human beings would sin, 384 00:21:07,442 --> 00:21:09,210 and if they didn't sin, 385 00:21:09,311 --> 00:21:12,714 they wouldn't need the Church to help them get out of it. 386 00:21:12,814 --> 00:21:13,381 narrator: And one way the Vatican 387 00:21:13,481 --> 00:21:15,684 funds the pope's sins 388 00:21:15,784 --> 00:21:18,887 is with the sale of indulgences, 389 00:21:18,987 --> 00:21:23,558 fees paid to the Church in exchange for salvation. 390 00:21:23,658 --> 00:21:25,193 - If you know you're gonna sin, 391 00:21:25,293 --> 00:21:28,396 maybe you could buy, ahead of time, a pardon. 392 00:21:28,496 --> 00:21:33,401 narrator: Despite their moral questionability, 393 00:21:33,501 --> 00:21:36,137 indulgences pay for many of the treasures 394 00:21:36,204 --> 00:21:40,875 we've come to associate with the modern Church. 395 00:21:40,975 --> 00:21:42,544 - Borgia exemplifies all the things 396 00:21:42,644 --> 00:21:45,413 about the Renaissance papacy 397 00:21:45,513 --> 00:21:49,584 that we both deplore and admire. 398 00:21:49,684 --> 00:21:51,086 A corrupt papacy, 399 00:21:51,186 --> 00:21:53,588 but he's a great patron of the arts. 400 00:21:53,688 --> 00:21:56,891 He begins to employ the greatest artists 401 00:21:56,991 --> 00:22:01,162 and architects of the time. 402 00:22:01,229 --> 00:22:02,330 narrator: During Borgia's papal rule, 403 00:22:02,397 --> 00:22:07,836 the Castel Sant'Angelo was restored, 404 00:22:07,902 --> 00:22:12,440 a center for the University of Rome is built, 405 00:22:12,540 --> 00:22:14,609 and Michelangelo draws plans 406 00:22:14,709 --> 00:22:18,747 to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica. 407 00:22:18,847 --> 00:22:20,715 - One just has to live with the paradox 408 00:22:20,782 --> 00:22:23,451 that these things are the product of sin, 409 00:22:23,551 --> 00:22:25,353 but they are not themselves sinful. 410 00:22:25,420 --> 00:22:27,522 They're wonderful, 411 00:22:27,589 --> 00:22:30,425 and the world is better for them. 412 00:22:30,525 --> 00:22:32,927 narrator: Borgia commissions so many works of art 413 00:22:33,027 --> 00:22:35,797 in the name of God and his family 414 00:22:35,897 --> 00:22:37,799 that the image modern Christianity 415 00:22:37,899 --> 00:22:40,869 has come to associate with Jesus Christ 416 00:22:40,935 --> 00:22:47,142 is said to be modeled after his oldest son, Cesare. 417 00:22:47,242 --> 00:22:50,478 But while Alexander VI continues to collect bribes 418 00:22:50,578 --> 00:22:53,615 and adorn the Vatican... 419 00:22:53,715 --> 00:22:59,320 an old rival hatches a plan to take him down. 420 00:22:59,421 --> 00:23:00,655 - The man who will turn out 421 00:23:00,755 --> 00:23:03,491 to be Rodrigo Borgia's real nemesis 422 00:23:03,591 --> 00:23:04,492 is Giuliano della Rovere. 423 00:23:04,592 --> 00:23:08,163 - He was an angry, aggressive man 424 00:23:08,263 --> 00:23:11,966 in contrast to Alexander VI's nature, 425 00:23:12,066 --> 00:23:13,501 which, by everybody's agreement, 426 00:23:13,601 --> 00:23:15,336 was immensely charming. 427 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:20,475 narrator: Borgia and della Rovere's rivalry 428 00:23:20,575 --> 00:23:24,679 dates back to when they were both young cardinals. 429 00:23:24,779 --> 00:23:29,918 But when Borgia wins the papacy in 1492, 430 00:23:29,984 --> 00:23:33,488 della Rovere becomes obsessed with destroying his enemy. 431 00:23:33,588 --> 00:23:36,024 - Not surprisingly, 432 00:23:36,124 --> 00:23:39,027 when della Rovere doesn't get the papal throne, 433 00:23:39,127 --> 00:23:41,162 he basically leaves Rome in a sulk. 434 00:23:41,262 --> 00:23:43,698 - Della Rovere exiled himself to France 435 00:23:43,798 --> 00:23:46,167 and attached himself to the French court 436 00:23:46,267 --> 00:23:50,138 and tried to work against Pope Alexander VI. 437 00:23:53,274 --> 00:23:54,542 narrator: Determined to take out his rival, 438 00:23:54,642 --> 00:23:58,546 della Rovere convinces King Charles VIII of France 439 00:23:58,646 --> 00:24:02,617 to capture Naples and, on his way, to sack Rome 440 00:24:02,684 --> 00:24:07,889 and dethrone the pope. 441 00:24:07,989 --> 00:24:09,724 - Two years after Rodrigo Borgia 442 00:24:09,824 --> 00:24:11,025 comes to the throne, 443 00:24:11,125 --> 00:24:15,697 this army floods over the Alps into northern Italy 444 00:24:15,797 --> 00:24:18,900 and towards Rome. 445 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,737 It's a major catastrophe. 446 00:24:22,837 --> 00:24:25,139 - As the immense French army 447 00:24:25,206 --> 00:24:27,575 on its way to Naples approached Rome, 448 00:24:27,675 --> 00:24:30,879 the papal court got ready to flee. 449 00:24:30,979 --> 00:24:33,715 Alexander decided at the 11th hour, 450 00:24:33,815 --> 00:24:36,251 "I'm not gonna run away." 451 00:24:36,351 --> 00:24:37,485 narrator: Despite having no army himself, 452 00:24:37,552 --> 00:24:42,757 in the face of 25,000 French soldiers, 453 00:24:42,857 --> 00:24:44,926 Pope Alexander VI is determined 454 00:24:45,026 --> 00:24:47,695 to fight for Rome and the Church. 455 00:24:47,762 --> 00:24:51,566 - Basically, then, the pope is having to negotiate 456 00:24:51,666 --> 00:24:54,068 sort of for his life, 457 00:24:54,168 --> 00:24:58,006 and for the life of Vatican and papal independence. 458 00:24:58,072 --> 00:25:02,777 - He invited Charles to come live with him in the Vatican. 459 00:25:02,877 --> 00:25:05,947 And he so charmed him, so won him over, 460 00:25:06,047 --> 00:25:09,617 that Charles announced, "Hey, this is a real thing. 461 00:25:09,717 --> 00:25:12,120 I'm not gonna depose him." 462 00:25:12,220 --> 00:25:18,293 - And then Pope Alexander helps to scoot them out on their way. 463 00:25:18,393 --> 00:25:19,761 narrator: In one of the greatest diplomatic moves 464 00:25:19,861 --> 00:25:22,297 in world history, 465 00:25:22,397 --> 00:25:25,066 the Borgia pope convinces King Charles of France 466 00:25:25,133 --> 00:25:27,602 to leave Rome and the papacy intact. 467 00:25:27,702 --> 00:25:30,638 - Della Rovere went nuts over this, 468 00:25:30,738 --> 00:25:33,474 because della Rovere lost his chance 469 00:25:33,575 --> 00:25:36,778 to displace his enemy. 470 00:25:36,878 --> 00:25:39,480 narrator: But soon, Giuliano della Rovere 471 00:25:39,581 --> 00:25:41,983 will prove to be just the first of many threats 472 00:25:42,083 --> 00:25:46,387 to the world-changing papacy of Alexander VI. 473 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:57,999 narrator: In 1494, the papacy is both flourishing 474 00:25:58,099 --> 00:26:01,669 and festering in a sea of corruption. 475 00:26:01,769 --> 00:26:03,404 And although the Borgia pope 476 00:26:03,471 --> 00:26:05,673 charms King Charles into sparing Rome... 477 00:26:08,576 --> 00:26:10,612 his formidable French fleet continues its march 478 00:26:10,678 --> 00:26:14,248 through the rest of the Italian peninsula. 479 00:26:16,584 --> 00:26:19,354 - The situation in Italy is getting very dodgy. 480 00:26:19,454 --> 00:26:22,523 And into this vacuum kind of enters 481 00:26:22,624 --> 00:26:26,527 this passionate fundamentalist 482 00:26:26,628 --> 00:26:30,932 called Girolamo Savonarola. 483 00:26:30,999 --> 00:26:32,200 narrator: Girolamo Savonarola 484 00:26:32,300 --> 00:26:38,306 is a charismatic Italian friar living in Florence. 485 00:26:38,373 --> 00:26:39,774 As Vatican culture becomes overtaken 486 00:26:39,841 --> 00:26:43,177 with materialism and depravity, 487 00:26:43,277 --> 00:26:45,680 Savonarola becomes more and more committed 488 00:26:45,780 --> 00:26:47,448 to the Word of the Gospel 489 00:26:47,515 --> 00:26:50,818 and takes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. 490 00:26:50,885 --> 00:26:53,054 - He's a very good preacher, 491 00:26:53,154 --> 00:26:56,024 and he understands the Bible inside-out. 492 00:26:56,124 --> 00:26:59,127 He's part of the Church, but he sees its corruption. 493 00:26:59,193 --> 00:27:03,231 And so he starts to make an attack on the Vatican. 494 00:27:03,331 --> 00:27:05,867 - If you take Borgia and Savonarola, 495 00:27:05,967 --> 00:27:08,903 they represent polar opposites 496 00:27:09,003 --> 00:27:11,739 within the Christianity of the 15th century. 497 00:27:16,177 --> 00:27:17,345 narrator: While the Borgia pope 498 00:27:17,412 --> 00:27:22,250 commissions lavish works of art in the name of God, 499 00:27:22,350 --> 00:27:24,986 Savonarola hails these expenditures 500 00:27:25,053 --> 00:27:28,923 as the downfall of Christianity. 501 00:27:29,023 --> 00:27:31,225 - His take on the Renaissance 502 00:27:31,325 --> 00:27:34,662 is basically, "This is the beginning of hell on earth. 503 00:27:34,729 --> 00:27:36,564 This is the beginning of the end." 504 00:27:39,033 --> 00:27:41,402 narrator: Savonarola's apocalyptic sermons 505 00:27:41,502 --> 00:27:44,038 draw thousands. 506 00:27:44,105 --> 00:27:47,008 He blames the pope for the French invasions 507 00:27:47,075 --> 00:27:49,944 and proclaims that God is punishing Italians 508 00:27:50,044 --> 00:27:54,015 for the hedonism displayed by the Church. 509 00:27:54,082 --> 00:27:57,685 - When Italy was being invaded by French armies 510 00:27:57,752 --> 00:27:59,954 for the first time in decades, 511 00:28:00,054 --> 00:28:01,289 it was a moment when the world 512 00:28:01,389 --> 00:28:03,124 looked as if it was coming to an end. 513 00:28:03,224 --> 00:28:05,793 And Savonarola started preaching 514 00:28:05,893 --> 00:28:09,297 this world-end message before the crisis really hit, 515 00:28:09,397 --> 00:28:11,466 so people thought, "Well, here's a prophet." 516 00:28:11,566 --> 00:28:14,135 - He understands what happens when people get frightened, 517 00:28:14,235 --> 00:28:16,637 and what he does is to say, 518 00:28:16,738 --> 00:28:19,474 "Look at all this art all around the walls. 519 00:28:19,574 --> 00:28:21,476 "There was a time when all you saw 520 00:28:21,576 --> 00:28:24,879 "was pictures of our saints and Mary and Jesus. 521 00:28:24,946 --> 00:28:27,148 "And now, along with them, 522 00:28:27,248 --> 00:28:29,817 "you've got these people of flesh and blood. 523 00:28:29,917 --> 00:28:32,754 "And there's quite a lot of flesh being shown too. 524 00:28:32,820 --> 00:28:36,124 This is the body; this is not the Spirit." 525 00:28:38,426 --> 00:28:41,162 "We're moving away from the true path, 526 00:28:41,262 --> 00:28:42,764 and God is punishing us." 527 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,502 narrator: While Pope Alexander VI 528 00:28:47,602 --> 00:28:51,305 dismisses the fanatical preacher as a passing phase, 529 00:28:51,405 --> 00:28:55,510 Savonarola's following only grows. 530 00:28:55,610 --> 00:29:00,681 - He did whip up a lot of support in Florence 531 00:29:00,782 --> 00:29:02,250 aimed at Rome. 532 00:29:02,316 --> 00:29:03,985 And he wrote some shocking things 533 00:29:04,085 --> 00:29:07,188 about Alexander. 534 00:29:07,288 --> 00:29:10,691 He wanted the world to see Alexander 535 00:29:10,792 --> 00:29:12,493 as the embodiment of evil. 536 00:29:12,593 --> 00:29:18,166 He wanted Alexander to be removed from the papacy. 537 00:29:18,266 --> 00:29:24,205 Alexander could have had Savonarola taken into custody, 538 00:29:24,305 --> 00:29:25,540 killed. 539 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:26,808 He just laughed it off 540 00:29:26,874 --> 00:29:29,877 and never defended himself against it. 541 00:29:29,977 --> 00:29:33,214 narrator: But on February 7, 1497, 542 00:29:33,314 --> 00:29:34,882 Savonarola makes a spectacular display 543 00:29:34,982 --> 00:29:40,054 of his rebellion that the pope cannot ignore. 544 00:29:40,154 --> 00:29:43,024 - Savonarola contrives this idea of a bonfire... 545 00:29:45,159 --> 00:29:48,362 to set fire to things that are not necessary 546 00:29:48,462 --> 00:29:49,997 and fripperies and are luxuries. 547 00:29:52,834 --> 00:29:56,370 - Famously, Savonarola gathered paintings, 548 00:29:56,470 --> 00:29:59,307 beautiful objects, luxurious fabrics, 549 00:29:59,373 --> 00:30:01,909 all put in a bonfire as a symbol of the last days. 550 00:30:02,009 --> 00:30:05,913 - It becomes known in history as the bonfire of the vanities. 551 00:30:06,013 --> 00:30:09,417 narrator: Tens of thousands of Florentines flock 552 00:30:09,517 --> 00:30:11,252 to the bonfire of the vanities 553 00:30:11,352 --> 00:30:14,055 and burn their worldly possessions. 554 00:30:14,155 --> 00:30:15,823 - It's a brilliant stroke. 555 00:30:15,890 --> 00:30:18,726 It's intimidating. 556 00:30:18,826 --> 00:30:20,261 It's public spectacle. 557 00:30:20,361 --> 00:30:22,930 It shows his power. 558 00:30:23,030 --> 00:30:23,831 And it's dramatic. 559 00:30:26,868 --> 00:30:30,404 It is one of the moments in this moment in history 560 00:30:30,504 --> 00:30:34,275 that lives on as emblematic of excess luxury 561 00:30:34,375 --> 00:30:37,111 and then excess fundamentalism. 562 00:30:37,211 --> 00:30:39,680 narrator: Pope Alexander VI realizes 563 00:30:39,747 --> 00:30:41,949 Savonarola is no longer someone to be ignored. 564 00:30:42,049 --> 00:30:46,087 He deems the fire a declaration of war 565 00:30:46,187 --> 00:30:47,788 against the Vatican. 566 00:30:56,564 --> 00:31:00,534 narrator: In 1497, after months of ignoring 567 00:31:00,601 --> 00:31:03,971 Savonarola's incendiary displays against the Vatican, 568 00:31:04,071 --> 00:31:08,042 the bonfire of the vanities forces Pope Alexander VI 569 00:31:08,109 --> 00:31:11,145 to strike back. 570 00:31:11,245 --> 00:31:13,481 - The pope told him to stop all this. 571 00:31:13,581 --> 00:31:14,615 He said no. 572 00:31:14,715 --> 00:31:18,953 And the pope declared him a heretic. 573 00:31:19,053 --> 00:31:20,955 narrator: Two months after the spectacle in Florence, 574 00:31:21,055 --> 00:31:27,161 Pope Alexander VI has Savonarola excommunicated. 575 00:31:27,261 --> 00:31:30,164 - Excommunication is a very powerful tool 576 00:31:30,264 --> 00:31:31,999 which makes a lot of people nervous 577 00:31:32,099 --> 00:31:34,001 about coming to hear Savonarola talk. 578 00:31:34,101 --> 00:31:36,070 They may believe in him, 579 00:31:36,137 --> 00:31:38,306 but the pope still runs the show. 580 00:31:38,406 --> 00:31:41,342 And this guy is going to hell if he's been excommunicated. 581 00:31:41,442 --> 00:31:45,780 - He was destroyed by his defiance of the pope. 582 00:31:45,846 --> 00:31:47,481 narrator: For his transgressions, 583 00:31:47,581 --> 00:31:51,252 the pope's supporters demand the heretic die. 584 00:31:54,088 --> 00:31:58,826 On May 23, 1498, Girolamo Savonarola 585 00:31:58,926 --> 00:32:01,762 is pulled into Florence's central square 586 00:32:01,829 --> 00:32:02,997 and burned at the stake. 587 00:32:08,302 --> 00:32:12,039 - They let him burn until nothing is left. 588 00:32:15,543 --> 00:32:18,045 narrator: In August of 1503, 589 00:32:18,145 --> 00:32:20,147 after creating a diplomatic empire, 590 00:32:20,214 --> 00:32:23,551 commissioning some of the greatest works of art 591 00:32:23,651 --> 00:32:26,053 the world has ever known, 592 00:32:26,153 --> 00:32:29,123 and reigning over one of the most depraved papacies 593 00:32:29,190 --> 00:32:31,892 in Vatican history, 594 00:32:31,993 --> 00:32:34,729 the Borgia pope contracts malaria 595 00:32:34,829 --> 00:32:36,030 and suddenly dies. 596 00:32:36,130 --> 00:32:40,134 - It's such a dramatic decline. 597 00:32:40,201 --> 00:32:42,970 A mosquito bites someone, 598 00:32:43,037 --> 00:32:44,472 and the entire 11 years 599 00:32:44,538 --> 00:32:48,042 of trying to build a dynasty collapses. 600 00:32:48,142 --> 00:32:50,044 It's gone. 601 00:32:50,144 --> 00:32:51,412 And within a year, 602 00:32:51,512 --> 00:32:54,415 the arch-enemy has taken the papacy. 603 00:33:02,356 --> 00:33:04,492 narrator: Just three months after his death, 604 00:33:04,558 --> 00:33:08,329 Rodrigo Borgia's arch-rival Giuliano della Rovere 605 00:33:08,396 --> 00:33:12,600 becomes Pope Julius II. 606 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:17,238 - Della Rovere was not chosen by a College of Cardinals 607 00:33:17,338 --> 00:33:19,907 that saw in him a holy man 608 00:33:20,007 --> 00:33:25,946 suited to be the leader of the universal Church. 609 00:33:26,047 --> 00:33:28,282 He took the office, which he had hungered for, 610 00:33:28,382 --> 00:33:30,117 by the force of his ability to intimidate, 611 00:33:30,217 --> 00:33:35,089 and almost immediately became a kind of egomaniac. 612 00:33:35,189 --> 00:33:37,958 narrator: Pope Julius II, 613 00:33:38,059 --> 00:33:40,361 still driven by spite and vengeance, 614 00:33:40,428 --> 00:33:42,296 makes it his personal mission 615 00:33:42,396 --> 00:33:45,466 to destroy everything his nemesis built, 616 00:33:45,566 --> 00:33:50,805 starting with Borgia's son Cesare. 617 00:33:50,905 --> 00:33:54,542 - Pope Alexander definitely did go overboard with nepotism, 618 00:33:54,608 --> 00:33:59,613 particularly with respect to his son Cesare. 619 00:33:59,713 --> 00:34:02,583 - Cesare was basically been given the key to the kingdom. 620 00:34:02,650 --> 00:34:04,819 He was given control of the army. 621 00:34:04,919 --> 00:34:06,654 narrator: After he becomes pope, 622 00:34:06,754 --> 00:34:10,324 Julius II has Cesare Borgia thrown in prison, 623 00:34:10,424 --> 00:34:14,328 stripped of his title, and eventually killed. 624 00:34:14,428 --> 00:34:16,564 - Della Rovere devoted himself 625 00:34:16,630 --> 00:34:20,668 to blackening the reputation of the whole Borgia family. 626 00:34:20,768 --> 00:34:23,170 - The rumor starts that Lucrezia Borgia, 627 00:34:23,270 --> 00:34:25,172 Rodrigo's daughter, is a whore 628 00:34:25,272 --> 00:34:26,941 who is sleeping with her father 629 00:34:27,007 --> 00:34:30,010 and probably sleeping with her brother. 630 00:34:30,111 --> 00:34:34,181 There is no evidence inside the Borgia history 631 00:34:34,281 --> 00:34:36,517 of incest. 632 00:34:36,617 --> 00:34:38,352 That doesn't mean it did not happen. 633 00:34:38,452 --> 00:34:40,921 But it's a bit like tabloid journalism. 634 00:34:40,988 --> 00:34:44,792 Once the mud has been slung, it sticks. 635 00:34:52,166 --> 00:34:55,970 narrator: Pope Julius II continues to slander 636 00:34:56,036 --> 00:34:57,371 the Borgia name 637 00:34:57,471 --> 00:34:59,840 and proclaims their behavior so disgusting 638 00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:01,208 that the part of the Vatican they lived in 639 00:35:01,308 --> 00:35:04,678 must be closed off. 640 00:35:04,778 --> 00:35:09,049 - Julius II had those Borgia apartments sealed up. 641 00:35:09,150 --> 00:35:11,952 So contaminated by these evil presences 642 00:35:12,019 --> 00:35:13,687 that nobody should go there. 643 00:35:16,991 --> 00:35:19,393 They stayed sealed till the 19th century, 644 00:35:19,493 --> 00:35:23,898 and now they're a tourist attraction. 645 00:35:23,998 --> 00:35:26,066 narrator: Today, over 5 million people 646 00:35:26,167 --> 00:35:28,235 tour the restored Borgia apartments every year, 647 00:35:28,335 --> 00:35:31,238 making them one of the most visited attractions 648 00:35:31,338 --> 00:35:33,874 in Vatican City. 649 00:35:36,644 --> 00:35:39,713 And despite Pope Julius II's avid condemnation 650 00:35:39,813 --> 00:35:42,550 of the corrupt Borgia papacy, 651 00:35:42,650 --> 00:35:46,520 his lifestyle is even more extravagant. 652 00:35:46,587 --> 00:35:49,089 - He actually was the great patron of Michelangelo. 653 00:35:49,190 --> 00:35:51,091 He rebuilt the whole of St. Peter's. 654 00:35:51,192 --> 00:35:54,562 He commissioned Michelangelo to do the dome. 655 00:35:54,662 --> 00:35:58,766 narrator: In 1508, Pope Julius II commissions 656 00:35:58,866 --> 00:36:01,502 the most famous work in the modern Vatican, 657 00:36:01,569 --> 00:36:04,905 the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 658 00:36:08,709 --> 00:36:12,346 - Della Rovere was driven by personal ambition, 659 00:36:12,413 --> 00:36:15,349 grandiosity. 660 00:36:15,416 --> 00:36:17,284 He wanted Michelangelo 661 00:36:17,384 --> 00:36:19,687 to get finished with the Sistine Chapel 662 00:36:19,753 --> 00:36:22,356 so he could get to work on his, Julius's, tomb, 663 00:36:22,423 --> 00:36:25,526 which was never finished. 664 00:36:25,593 --> 00:36:26,694 narrator: Despite his motivations, 665 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:30,531 art flourishes under the della Rovere pope, 666 00:36:30,598 --> 00:36:32,466 and the papacy becomes stronger 667 00:36:32,566 --> 00:36:35,202 and more powerful than ever. 668 00:36:37,538 --> 00:36:40,140 - He's a warrior pope 669 00:36:40,241 --> 00:36:42,443 who actually goes into battle leading his own soldiers, 670 00:36:42,543 --> 00:36:44,378 wearing silver armor. 671 00:36:44,445 --> 00:36:47,481 It is to aggrandize himself, to some extent, 672 00:36:47,581 --> 00:36:49,383 but it's also part of a vision of a papacy 673 00:36:49,450 --> 00:36:54,121 that has to be underpinned by power. 674 00:36:54,221 --> 00:36:56,657 narrator: Pope Julius II continues flaunting 675 00:36:56,757 --> 00:37:01,161 the power of the papacy until his death in 1513. 676 00:37:01,262 --> 00:37:04,331 By then, another powerful Italian family 677 00:37:04,431 --> 00:37:08,168 has been patiently plotting to take over the papal throne. 678 00:37:08,269 --> 00:37:11,338 And the young banking heir will take Renaissance opulence 679 00:37:11,438 --> 00:37:13,007 to levels of excess 680 00:37:13,107 --> 00:37:16,410 from which the Church may never recover. 681 00:37:22,916 --> 00:37:24,251 narrator: The Renaissance popes 682 00:37:24,318 --> 00:37:27,454 are known for their extravagance, 683 00:37:27,521 --> 00:37:29,823 but one pope pushes papal spending 684 00:37:29,923 --> 00:37:32,860 beyond the realm of wild excess. 685 00:37:37,464 --> 00:37:43,103 Pope Leo X is a member of the wealthy Medici family 686 00:37:43,170 --> 00:37:45,039 and has grown up in a lifestyle 687 00:37:45,139 --> 00:37:46,774 of lavish luxury. 688 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,543 - Giovanni de' Medici was the second son 689 00:37:49,643 --> 00:37:51,378 of Lorenzo de' Medici. 690 00:37:51,478 --> 00:37:53,347 He was a pleasure-loving man. 691 00:37:53,447 --> 00:37:58,552 Loved the arts, theater, music, all that sort of thing. 692 00:37:58,652 --> 00:38:01,855 - Leo X and members of the Medici dynasty 693 00:38:01,955 --> 00:38:05,392 represent the most glorious aspect of the papacy 694 00:38:05,492 --> 00:38:08,062 at the beginning of the 16th century, 695 00:38:08,162 --> 00:38:10,397 and also its nemesis. 696 00:38:10,497 --> 00:38:12,399 They are the initiators of the alliance 697 00:38:12,499 --> 00:38:13,400 between the papacy and the arts 698 00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:15,703 and the corruption 699 00:38:15,803 --> 00:38:18,906 of Western Christianity altogether. 700 00:38:25,145 --> 00:38:26,413 narrator: Leo X celebrates his election 701 00:38:26,513 --> 00:38:32,152 with a party in Florence. 702 00:38:32,219 --> 00:38:34,421 Part of the celebration includes a young boy 703 00:38:34,521 --> 00:38:37,391 painted in gold. 704 00:38:43,030 --> 00:38:44,765 In the middle of the festivities, 705 00:38:44,865 --> 00:38:48,268 the boy dies from paint poisoning. 706 00:38:51,038 --> 00:38:53,607 Many see this death of the golden boy 707 00:38:53,707 --> 00:38:55,576 as a symbol of the apocalyptic prophecy 708 00:38:55,676 --> 00:38:58,612 preached by Savonarola, 709 00:38:58,712 --> 00:39:00,848 the embodiment of death by excess 710 00:39:00,914 --> 00:39:04,051 at the hands of the Catholic Church. 711 00:39:07,588 --> 00:39:12,626 - Pope Francis rapidly becoming known as the people's pope. 712 00:39:12,726 --> 00:39:15,129 - Yeah, he takes the bus, as we've reported here. 713 00:39:15,229 --> 00:39:17,464 He pays his own bills. 714 00:39:17,564 --> 00:39:19,633 - Pope Francis is simply not interested 715 00:39:19,733 --> 00:39:25,973 in the power-wealth-influence aspect of the papacy at all. 716 00:39:26,073 --> 00:39:29,810 He gets up at- 00, and he works till- 00 p.m. 717 00:39:29,910 --> 00:39:32,413 So there's a kind of focus there that we admire. 718 00:39:32,479 --> 00:39:37,751 But if everybody was like that, the world would be horrible. 719 00:39:39,453 --> 00:39:40,621 The Renaissance popes 720 00:39:40,721 --> 00:39:44,725 did things very, very differently. 721 00:39:44,792 --> 00:39:45,426 They took a lot of holidays. 722 00:39:45,492 --> 00:39:49,663 They partied. 723 00:39:49,763 --> 00:39:54,301 And they created beauty. 724 00:39:54,401 --> 00:39:57,438 But the beauty was paid for with sin. 725 00:40:00,441 --> 00:40:03,010 narrator: The Borgias, the della Roveres, 726 00:40:03,110 --> 00:40:04,178 the Medicis, 727 00:40:04,278 --> 00:40:05,646 and the murderous, power-hungry families 728 00:40:05,746 --> 00:40:08,182 that shaped Renaissance Italy 729 00:40:08,282 --> 00:40:11,485 bring the Church to a breaking point. 730 00:40:11,585 --> 00:40:14,521 By the end of the 16th century, 731 00:40:14,621 --> 00:40:16,523 their blind ambition, fierce loyalty, 732 00:40:16,623 --> 00:40:19,092 and frivolous spending 733 00:40:19,159 --> 00:40:22,996 has bankrupt the Church financially and spiritually. 734 00:40:24,932 --> 00:40:26,767 - What they did with power, 735 00:40:26,834 --> 00:40:28,535 it's obviously incompatible 736 00:40:28,635 --> 00:40:33,373 with the figure of Jesus in the Gospels. 737 00:40:33,474 --> 00:40:35,108 And yet, when you stand 738 00:40:35,175 --> 00:40:38,679 in front of Michelangelo's "Pietà" in the Vatican 739 00:40:38,779 --> 00:40:41,515 or Raphael's frescoes, 740 00:40:41,615 --> 00:40:43,484 what do you say? 741 00:40:43,550 --> 00:40:45,219 Do you take a hammer to them? 742 00:40:45,319 --> 00:40:50,557 Or do you say they have nothing to do with Christianity? 743 00:40:50,657 --> 00:40:52,459 - The finance and the corruption 744 00:40:52,526 --> 00:40:54,895 and the creativity 745 00:40:54,995 --> 00:40:57,731 are in queasy relationship to each other 746 00:40:57,831 --> 00:41:00,534 all the way through this extraordinary moment 747 00:41:00,634 --> 00:41:02,569 in history. 748 00:41:02,669 --> 00:41:04,404 narrator: There can be no way 749 00:41:04,505 --> 00:41:05,739 to untangle the corruption of the Renaissance 750 00:41:05,839 --> 00:41:11,078 with the beauty and discovery that has come out of it. 751 00:41:11,178 --> 00:41:13,914 Much of the power of today's Vatican lies 752 00:41:14,014 --> 00:41:16,550 in the diplomatic positions set up by the Borgia pope 753 00:41:16,650 --> 00:41:20,554 and the tourism attracted by the works of art 754 00:41:20,654 --> 00:41:22,656 commissioned by the della Roveres 755 00:41:22,723 --> 00:41:24,558 and the Medicis. 756 00:41:24,658 --> 00:41:27,194 - What has been erected 757 00:41:27,261 --> 00:41:29,730 are these extraordinary gifts to all of humanity, 758 00:41:29,830 --> 00:41:33,066 so that the Church is like a repository of beauty. 759 00:41:33,166 --> 00:41:37,004 How can we have this magnificent art depository 760 00:41:37,070 --> 00:41:38,839 and architecture of St. Peter's 761 00:41:38,906 --> 00:41:41,608 and then the corrupt actions of individuals? 762 00:41:41,708 --> 00:41:43,577 And yet, the Church is both. 763 00:41:43,677 --> 00:41:46,413 narrator: The duality of the Renaissance 764 00:41:46,513 --> 00:41:49,950 lies within every facet of the modern Church. 765 00:41:50,050 --> 00:41:53,020 With all progress comes sacrifice. 766 00:41:53,086 --> 00:41:55,923 And despite the corruption of fallible men, 767 00:41:56,023 --> 00:41:59,393 the papacy remains divine.