456 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. THE ROMAN SCHOOL. " See the wild waste of all-devouring years ! How Rome her own sad sepulchre appears . ^ With nodding arches, broken temples spread. —1 OPL. I, INFLUENCES (see page 437). i. Geographical.-The unique character of Rome as an influence was its prestige as the capital of an empire that had crumbled away, and whose architecture was now being revived. The rtiinslnd^new buildings are important as forming models for the whole of Europe. , ii Geological.— The remains of old Rome, such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, and colonnades, formed the quarry from which much of the material for the Renaissance buildings was iii. Climate.— (Seepages 112, 404.) . ,^ p^^^ iv Religion.— The return of the popes from Avignon to Rome in A D 1 376 helped to restore her to her former position of import- ance and prosperity. From the time of the Council of Constance, 14^ the popes took a more prominent position as Italian princes, aid during the fifteenth century they great y extended their temporal dominions in Italy. Some hoped that Italian unity woud be effected under the papal sway, and Caesar Borgia, nephew^o Alexander VI., proposed to effect this by absorbing tl e ahan states as one would eat an artichoke— leaf by leaf. Juhus 11. besieged Bologna in person, as sacred and secular capacities were often^combined in the same pope. The Jesuits founded in the Tr Renaissance period, existed to counteract the Reformation, bv rendering the papal influence universal (see below). V Social and Political.-In Rome a central government existed, in consequence of which party spirit was checked and fortified palaces were not necessary as m Florence. Rome was the home of the old classic traditions, which naturally exerted great influence in any new development. . During the fifteenth century the popes were tempora princes and -reat patrons of art and learning. Splendid new palaces and churches were erected, and the decoration of old ones carried on by successive painters of whom Peruzzi, Raphael, MichaeAi.gelo and others were eminent. A school was created for artists and worknien, who afterwards spread abroad the style of the Renais- sance in other parts of Italy and beyond. . vi Historical.- During the absence of the popes at Avignon, the factions of the barons continued unchecked, except during the brief rule of Rienzi's republican state in 1347. The return of the popes took place in 1376 under Gregory XI. The scandal of rival
