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The Pope was the head of the Catholic Church and the spiritual leader of millions of Christians in Europe. However, the great wealth and power of the Papacy corrupted the various holders of the office and this was to have a marked effect on Renaissance Italy.<ref> Johnson, p. 114</ref> Many Popes were more interested in advancing the interests of their families and they often lavished money and lands on their family members. The Popes often showed great favors towards their nephews. Many nephews of Popes became very powerful in Rome in the Church and politics. For example, Pope Calixtus advanced his nephew to high office in the Curia and he eventually became Pope Alexander VI. The Papal favoritism of nephews led to the coinage of the term of ‘nepotism’. The Pontiff was usually a worldly figure at this time. Pope Leo X spend lavishly and lived the high life and Julius II was known as the ‘‘Warrior-Pope’ for his love of war.’’<ref>Johnson. 119</ref> This and their lavish patronage of the arts resulted in serious financial difficulties for the Church despite its vast wealth, by the end of the fifteenth century. Many of the Popes led scandalous lives, such as Alexander VI, who had many mistresses and several children <ref> Duffy, p 321</ref>
Papal corruption was nothing new and in the Dark Ages the Papacy had been possibly even more corrupt. The Renaissance Papacy, despite the holiness of some, such as Sixtus IV, was largely secular in its outlook. The uniquely secular culture of at least the elites in Italy was encouraged by the secularism of the Papacy. This meant that the many artists and writers at the time had no fear of offending the Pope and the Church and had therefore almost unlimited freedom of expression. This was despite the fact that many of them celebrated ancient and non-Christian values. This also allowed great writers such as Machiavelli or artists such as Leonardo to express their interest in the classical and natural world without fear of being accused of irreligion<ref> Johnson, p. 121</ref>. In previous eras, the Inquisition would have investigated their writings and beliefs of such writers and thinkers. During the Renaissance, the Inquisition was almost dormant, thanks to the lack of interest of the Popes in the enforcement of religious orthodoxy.<ref> Ruggiero, Guido, ed. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1405157836/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1405157836&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8a0e3d313de1bf342c4437fd6146329d A Companion to the Worlds of the Renaissance]</i>. ( Longman, London, 2002), p. 561 </ref> When the Papacy become more religious and spiritual during the period after the Sack of Rome, the culture of Italy was less favorable to freedom of thought and expression and this led to a decline in the arts.
====Papacy and Religion====
