The Literary Critic

Situational irony occurs when events contradict expectations, and this applies to the contradiction between my expectation of Rome in 1499 and its reality. Rome has been considered the Holy City for ages; the home of the pope, it is thought to be the centerpiece of Christianity. As such, I would envision sparkling clean streets, pristine architecture and pure inhabitants. On the contrary, I have learned, along with Michaelangelo Bunarrotti in Irving Stone's The Agony and Ecstasy, that the streets of this ancient bulwark are dingy, the buildings dilapidated, and the air expelling filth throughout the region. Additionally, the citizens, including His Holiness, Pope Alexander VI himself, indulge in vile fleshly pastimes resulting in illegitimate children and destitute citizenry within the city gates.

For some reason I thought that popes began as priests, and priests took vows of chastity. I know that Cardinal Richilieu of France had mistresses, as did Mazarin who followed, and it seems as though Cardinal Wolsey in England kept a mistress as well. I suppose I imagined those were anomalies; however, according the biographical novel by Stone, these aversions from the holy way of the Church were the norm, and I am disappointed, in spite of the fact that I am not even Catholic, that the church was so full of corruption even at that stage of history, and my eyes have been opened, that perhaps even now, what appears holy and true is a mere facade.