Upon the 18th, there assembled in the Duomo a still more numerous and distinguished auditory; when, after celebration of mass by the nuncio, he seated himself before the altar, with the Prefect on his right, and the Duke on his left, and in an elegant Latin discourse, set forth the desire of the latter to make sure the succession by adopting his nephew, and the approval of the Pope and college of cardinals to that substitution, in evidence of which the brieves and other formal documents were read. A magnificent missal,—perhaps that painted for Matthew Corvinus King of Hungary, which adorns the Vatican Urbino Library,—was then placed in the hands of Francesco Maria, opened at a miniature of the holy sacrament, and upon it deputies from the communities of the duchy took the oath of fidelity and homage to him as their future sovereign; all which having been regularly attested in notorial instruments, the solemnity ended.[*20]

These events served to aggravate the jealousy of the Venetians against the claims of Julius upon their recent acquisitions of Romagna, which they regarded as fairly conquered from Borgia. They possessed in this way the states of Ravenna, Faenza, and Rimini, and had gained footing upon the territories of Imola, Forlì, and Cesena, the inhabitants of which loudly complained of their aggressions. Of all these places the Church was the acknowledged superior, and the old investitures held under her by their respective princely families had been annulled by Alexander, in order to make way for his son. Some of these dynasties had died out, and Julius showed no disposition to restore the others, his leading object being the temporal aggrandisement of the papacy. At this juncture his Holiness sent for Guidobaldo, to consult with him; and in order to facilitate his arrival, presented him with a commodious litter swung between two beautifully dappled horses. The winter journey was, however, disastrous to his dilapidated frame, and he was laid up for nine days at Narni with gout, complicated by fever and dysentery, and consequently did not reach Rome with his nephew and Castiglione until the 2nd of January, when they slept outside of the gate, and next morning made a solemn entrance. It was the great object of the Republic to be received as vicar or vassal of the Holy See in the three first-mentioned states, and for this end they were willing to abandon all claims and attempts upon the remaining three. Guidobaldo, interposing as a mediator to prevent an open breach between parties so mutually deserving of his friendship, persuaded the Signory to abandon the latter places, and trust to the justice of Julius for the fulfilment of their desires. To procure this, they sent, in April, a splendid embassy to Rome of eight commissioners, with two hundred attendants, headed by Bembo, who, passing by Urbino, received from the Duchess a princely welcome. But no benefit accrued from this measure, for the Pontiff's ultimatum was announced to the senate through Louis XII., giving them Rimini and Faenza, during his life only, a result highly unsatisfactory to the Republic.

The Duke's prolonged residence in Rome, where his company became greatly prized by the Pope, was little relished by his consort or his people; so, to maintain them in good humour, his Holiness announced a plenary indulgence for all their broken vows and deeds of violence during the late usurpation, to such as should devoutly observe the Easter ceremonies. The alms collected at this jubilee, amounting to 2265 florins, were expended upon the duomo of Urbino. At length, in the end of July, 1506, he obtained leave to return home, on the plea that change of air was advisable for his health.[*21]

Julius, having announced to the consistory his intention of extending the temporal sovereignty of the Church over such portions of the ecclesiastical territory as were possessed by tyrants (for so he called the vicars and other lords who ruled their petty states as feudatories of the Holy See), carried his design into effect with characteristic energy. He set out for Perugia on the 26th of August, after having directed the Duke of Urbino and his nephew to march thither, each with two hundred men-at-arms, and expel its seigneur Gianpaolo Baglioni. Here Guidobaldo again appeared as mediator, and, persuaded by him to submit with good grace to a fate that he could not avert, the Lord of Perugia gave up his fortresses, and was taken into the pay of Julius for his expedition against Bologna. The Pope, elated by the ease with which so formidable an opponent had been disposed of, pressed on preparations for attacking the Bentivoglii. He reached Urbino on the 25th of September, accompanied by twenty-two cardinals, with a suitable cortège, and a guard of four hundred men. Beyond the walls he was received by forty-five noble youths, dressed in doublets and hose of white silk, who, on his alighting, seized as their perquisite his richly caparisoned mule, which was afterwards redeemed from them for sixty golden ducats. The gates were thrown down to receive him, and he was there met by the Duke, disabled from dismounting; by the magistracy, who presented the keys; and by the court and clergy. A rich canopy shaded him, as the holy sacrament was borne before him to the cathedral; and after devotion there, he entered the palace, which next evening was illuminated, along with the citadel, fireworks being displayed in the piazza. Some singular usages of hospitality were adopted on this occasion. The Duke presented to his Holiness a hundred sacks of flour, as much barley and corn, with a proportionate quantity of live stock and poultry, to the value in all of 800 ducats.[*22] This donative was accepted, and part of it was handed over to the hospital of the Misericordia. In anticipation of the Pope's advent, the roads were repaired and smoothed, triumphal arches and statues were erected, flowers and evergreens were strewn before him, the streets were adorned with gay hangings and shaded by linen awnings, the palace was arrayed in those rich tapestries, pictures, and furniture, which the taste of Federigo and his son had accumulated. Next evening, the palace roofs and the citadel were illuminated, and over the latter was hung a brilliant cross of fire. Deputations arrived from Pesaro, and the principal places in the duchy, with gifts of provisions; but large supplies had been previously laid in by the Duke for so vast an influx; and in order to regulate prices, the following tariff, calculated at about half the current value, was proclaimed.

Wheat, per staio or bush45bolognini.
Barley ” ”36”
Oats ” ”24”
Wine, per somma54”
Ditto, new ”27”
Mutton, per lb.1"
Veal, per lb.10”
Ox flesh ”8”
Salt meat ”1 to 7”
Capons, per pair9”
Fowls ”4 to 7”
Pigeons ”4 to 7”
Wood pigeons, per pair1 to 7”
Eggs, seven for1”
Cheese, per lb.1 to 7”
Hay, per cwt.4 to 7”
Wood, per somma½carlino.[23]

Anderson

POPE JULIUS II