The Backstory: Party Like a Pope!

backstory is back. Born Giovanni de Lorenzo de Medici in fourteen seventy five, Pope Leo the tenth had a lot to live up to right from the beginning. His father was known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, as a little intimidating for his kid, and the Medici family was the most powerful in their city of Florence, and in fact in all of Italy. For a time, they were the richest family in Europe. They had interests in politics, banking, and

of course the church. In fact, Leo the tenth was the first of four Medici popes, as well as two queens of France, including the controversial Catherine de Medici. So they held on to their power for centuries. What did they do well? The Medici family paid for the rebuilding of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, and they financially backed artists and scientists like Donatello Barticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,

Raphael Machiavelli, and Galileo, among many others. They actually funded the invention of the piano as well as opera as we know it. So young Giovanni was propelled into power by his family legacy and by his father, Lorenzo the Magnificent. Amazingly, he was made a cardinal at the age of just thirteen. He grew up in the lap of luxury, deeply cultured and totally political, and he loved that life. His father wanted each of his sons to be even more influential

than he was himself. So what's next after you've become a cardinal at thirteen. Well, in fifteen thirteen, Giovanni reached the pinnacle at just thirty eight years of age. Following the death of Pope Julius the Second, Giovanni de Medici was elected pope. He took the name Leo the Tenth. Now it was time to party like a king, or in his case, like a pope. The celebrations were insanely extravagant. Leo famously said, since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it. He wanted to live like a king,

and boy did he no vow of poverty. For him. His life was all about extravagant feasts, huge parties, and throwing around huge sums of money to fund the arts and culture. The papal court of Leo the Tenth rivaled that of any king or queen in Europe. Masterpieces funded by him and created by Michelangelo, Raphael and others are

considered priceless today. But Leo wanted more. He was involved in a lot of political intrigue, and his military ambitions pushed him to gather even more territorial and political power, and so he built a powerful army to secure the takeover of more territories for the Medici family, and he went to war. That's where it started to get sticky. He was spending huge amounts of church money on his battles, and there were people within the Church that started to

question it. Most notably the German priest Martin Luther. Pope Leo attempted to raise money, ostensibly for the church, but mostly to fund his own extravagant lifestyle, his artistic ambitions, and his military by selling what are called indulgences. These were essentially documents promising forgiveness and reduce time in purgatory for a price. Wow, we could all use that now. In Germany, a friar working with Leo became infamous for

selling these indulgences. His sales pitch as soon as a coin in the Kaufer Rings a soul from per progatory springs. Martin Luther was furious over the corrupt money and the departure from honesty and spirituality. So this was actually the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and the division of the Church. All thanks to Leo. Martin Luther, helped by the newly invented printing press, was able to spread his angry message

all over Europe. Leo, the Party Pope, at first thought it was no big deal that Luther was really just to nobody, but soon his ideas spread like wildfire, and Leo's luxurious lifestyle was suddenly an easy target. For criticism. Luther openly denounced the pope's excesses, contrasting his lavish lifestyle in Rome with the humble teachings of Jesus Christ. The Pope's extravagant banquets, elaborate parties, and intense political meddling validated

Luther's claims. Now Leo was starting to get irritated. He denounced Luther, calling him a heretic. He said he'd be excommunicating if he didn't retract his statements about Leo. Martin Luther decided to double down on his attacks, and finally, in January of fifteen twenty one, Leo the Tenth excommunicated Luther. But instead of silencing him, the excommunication put Luther squarely

in the spotlight. All over Germany and beyond, everybody began to follow Martin Luther and denounce the medici Pope Leo. They all agreed the church needed to change. Leo had indirectly transformed Luther's criticism into a political and religious revolution, the Protestant Reformation. But Leo didn't get it. He kept spending money and trying to gather power. He lavishly entertained he lived like a king, completely oblivious to criticism. In doing so, he had ignited one of history's most profound

religious and cultural upheavals. He's remembered for his artistic and cultural contributions, but he was completely led in any spiritual direction. Martin Luther went on to create the Lutheran Church and to inspire other Protestant religions, changing the religious and cultural landscape all over Europe. As for Pope Leo the Tenth, the Partying Metichi Pope, he died of pneumonia just months after excommunicating Martin Luther. He was just forty five years old.

Hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty steel Please leave a review and follow or subscribe for free to get new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to DM me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premier Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We

have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.