1527. The Sack of Rome

On May 6, 1527, Rome, the heart of Christendom and a symbol of Renaissance power, was sacked by the imperial troops of Charles V. The destruction of the Eternal City was not merely a tragedy; it also consolidated Spanish power in Europe against France, the Papacy, and the Italian states opposed to the Empire.

This book reconstructs the events, paints a portrait of the main protagonists—including King Francis I of France, Pope Clement VII, and the Medici family—and uncovers the political and religious intrigues that led to one of the most momentous events of the sixteenth century, an episode that definitively changed the European political landscape and brought to an end one of the most creative and glorious periods in human history: the Renaissance.

Now, five hundred years later, Montserrat Rico offers us a fresh perspective on this crucial historical episode.