Pope Julius II , born Giuliano della Rovere, and nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope", was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 November 1503 to his death in 1513. His nine-year pontificate was marked by an active foreign policy, ambitious building projects, and patronage of the arts. His military and diplomatic interventions averted a take-over by France of the Italian States . He also proved a bulwark against Venetian expansionism.Pope Julius II commissioned the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, Michelangelo's decoration and full-scale painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and his discerning eye in hiring the artist Raphael as a young man brought numerous improvements to the Vatican.
Letter to the Pope about Cesare Borgia and Charlotte of Naples (18 January 1499), as quoted in The Life of Cesare Borgia (1912) by Rafael Sabatini, Book III The Bull Rampant
As quoted in Sex Lives of the Popes (1996) by Nigel Cawthorne, p. 219
