The sack of Rome in May 1527 lasted for more than a week. Screaming, “Spain! Spain! Kill! Kill!” imperial troops hurtled through into the city and ran wild. They made short work of the few thousand military defenders, including most of the pope’s Swiss Guards, who were cut down in front of St. Peter’s. After that, the city was theirs. Clement himself fled to the Castel Sant’Angelo—the
