Nearly 31% of Rome’s palaces were built between 1378 and 1599, after a century of economic stagnation. What were the origins of this striking urban revival? Drawing on a newly compiled dataset linking palace construction to the identity of their patrons, a study shows that Romans began building palaces only once they were confident the popes would not leave the Eternal City again.
Rome, in the 14th and 15th centuries, was in ruins. Contemporaries described it as a “cadaver”. A “great stable for sheep”. Artists depicted Rome as a widow, clad in black, pleading with passersby.
