Pope Paul III
1468 CE–1549 CE · Sovana, Tuscany
Born Alessandro Farnese into a noble Roman family, he was educated in the humanist circle of Lorenzo de' Medici and advanced rapidly, partly through his sister Giulia's connection to Alexander VI. Though his early career reflected Renaissance worldliness—he had children before ordination—as pope he became a pivotal reformer. Paul III convened the Council of Trent in 1545, launching the Catholic Counter-Reformation, and in 1540 approved the Society of Jesus. He also commissioned Michelangelo to complete the Last Judgment and serve as architect of St. Peter's. His blend of nepotism and genuine reforming vision makes him a transitional figure between Renaissance and reform.
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Sovana, Tuscany
We know they were here, but the specifics of what they did at this stop aren’t recorded yet in our corpus.
About Sovana, Tuscany
Sovana, a small town in southern Tuscany, central Italy. It was the birthplace of Hildebrand of Sovana, the reforming Pope Gregory VII.
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Pope Paul III’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
Across the traditions
In the same tradition
Pope Pius III, Pope Julius II, Girolamo Savonarola, Pope Adrian VI, Pope Leo X, Pope Paul IV, Pope Clement VII, Martin Luther, Pope Julius III, Pope Pius IV, Pope Urban VII
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Pope Paul III’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Buddhist world
Jewish world
Works
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