Commentaries, Volume 1: Books I-II

by Pope Pius II, Marcello Simonetta (Editor)

The Renaissance popes were among the most enlightened and generous patrons of arts and letters in the Europe of their day. The diaries of Pius II give us an intimate glimpse of the life and thought of one of the greatest of the Renaissance popes. Pius II (1405-1464) began life as Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini in a small town near Siena, and became a famous Latin poet and diplomat. Originally an opponent of the papacy as well as something of a libertine, Aeneas eventually reconciled himself with the Roman church and became a priest, then a cardinal. Finally he was elected Pope Pius II (1458) and dedicated his pontificate to organizing a pan-European crusade against the Ottoman Empire. Pius's "Commentaries," the only autobiography ever written by a pope, was composed in elegant humanistic Latin modeled on Caesar and Cicero. This edition contains a fresh Latin text based on the last manuscript written in Pius's lifetime and an updated and corrected version of the 1937 translation by Florence Alden Gragg.

Genres: History

448 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2004

About the author

also writes as: Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini

Pope Pius II (Latin: Pius PP. II, Italian: Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (Latin Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus) was the head of the Catholic Church from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. He was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family. His longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, the Commentaries, which is the only autobiography ever written by a reigning Pope. He is also known for his erotic writings done before he became pope.