The Sack of Rome

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 political and military situation in Italy that culminated in the sack of Rome. That account is here translated for the first time. (Introduction) Illustrated maps introduction glossary afterword bibliography.