5 ms·

TIL the Papacy used to have a navy.

shadowofneptune 4y ago
Even as someone who's read a lot about the Papacy it is hard for me to grasp how similar the Papal States were to neighboring Italian city-states. Here's a painting of Papal soldiers fighting bandits. Could you ever guess who they worked for from the uniform? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Horace_Vernet_-_Italian_Brigands_Surprised_by_Papal_Troops_-_Walters_3754.jpg/800px-Horace_Vernet_-_Italian_Brigands_Surprised_by_Papal_Troops_-_Walters_3754.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Ho...
- gerikson 4y ago
  Indeed, the papal states were a fascinating institution. From a link in the submitted article: > It is easy to forget that even if its political constitution was at odds with Europe’s ascendant liberalism, the Papal States of the 19th century was a fully functioning, modern state. Secchi contributed much to its welfare, helping with the construction of electric railways, installing lightning rods on important buildings, coming up with a system for the lighthouses in the ports and ensuring drinking water was potable. He supervised a precise geodetic survey along the Appian Way that became the basis for accurate maps of the region. -- <https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/07/26/angelo-secchi-jesuit-father-astrophysics https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/07/26/ange...>
tgv 4y ago
I'm reading a biography of Erasmus, and while he visits Italy, the Pope is waging war on Bologna and Venice, I believe. For fear of excommunication, Erasmus has to flee. "Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_II
- billfruit 4y ago
  Is the biography you reading "Fatal Discord" by Michael Massing?
alexpotato 4y ago
Brings new context to the Stalin quote(maybe apocryphal): "How many divisions does the Pope have?"
- gerikson 4y ago
  True! But this was before the Papal States were incorporated into Italy and the same pope who commissioned the research detailed in the article became “a prisoner in the Vatican”.

Even as someone who's read a lot about the Papacy it is hard for me to grasp how similar the Papal States were to neighboring Italian city-states. Here's a painting of Papal soldiers fighting bandits. Could you ever guess who they worked for from the uniform? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Horace_Vernet_-_Italian_Brigands_Surprised_by_Papal_Troops_-_Walters_3754.jpg/800px-Horace_Vernet_-_Italian_Brigands_Surprised_by_Papal_Troops_-_Walters_3754.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Ho...

gerikson 4y ago
Indeed, the papal states were a fascinating institution. From a link in the submitted article: > It is easy to forget that even if its political constitution was at odds with Europe’s ascendant liberalism, the Papal States of the 19th century was a fully functioning, modern state. Secchi contributed much to its welfare, helping with the construction of electric railways, installing lightning rods on important buildings, coming up with a system for the lighthouses in the ports and ensuring drinking water was potable. He supervised a precise geodetic survey along the Appian Way that became the basis for accurate maps of the region. -- <https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/07/26/angelo-secchi-jesuit-father-astrophysics https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/07/26/ange...>

tgv 4y ago

I'm reading a biography of Erasmus, and while he visits Italy, the Pope is waging war on Bologna and Venice, I believe. For fear of excommunication, Erasmus has to flee. "Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Julius_II

billfruit 4y ago
Is the biography you reading "Fatal Discord" by Michael Massing?

alexpotato 4y ago

Brings new context to the Stalin quote(maybe apocryphal): "How many divisions does the Pope have?"

gerikson 4y ago
True! But this was before the Papal States were incorporated into Italy and the same pope who commissioned the research detailed in the article became “a prisoner in the Vatican”.