Olga's Gallery

Leo X, Giovanni de' Medici (1475-1521), pope from 1513, second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent. He was appointed cardinal at the age of 13. He was employed as legate by Julius II, on whose death in 1513 he was chosen pope as Leo X. He concluded a concordat with Francis I of France; he consolidated and extended the reconquests of his predecessor, Julius II. But it is as a patron of learning and art that he is best remembered. He founded a Greek college in Rome and established a Greek press. His vast project for the rebuilding of St. Peter's cathedral and his permitting the preaching of indulgences in order to raise funds provoked Luther's Reformation. He regarded the movement as of little importance; and although he condemned the propositions of Luther, his measures were not marked by severity. In his moral conduct he maintained a strict propriety