On May 5, 1527 Spanish, German, and Italian troops under the banner of the Holy Roman Emperor swarmed into Rome. Until December, when they were finally dispersed by plague, these troops plundered, tortured, raped, and murdered in the defenseless capital of Christendom. "The sack of Rome in 1527 was an event of tragic and decisive importance. It brought the Renaissance, the greatest period in Italian history, to its sudden and catastrophic end. We are fortunate to possess many eyewitness accounts of this extraordinary event. Only one contemporary account, however, offers an overview of the...
On May 5, 1527 Spanish, German, and Italian troops under the banner of the Holy Roman Emperor swarmed into Rome. Until December, when they were finall...