orig. Giuliano della Rovere
born Dec. 5, 1443, Albisola, republic of Genoa
died Feb. 21, 1513, Rome
Pope (1503–13).
The nephew of Sixtus IV , he fled Rome in 1494 to escape assassination by Alexander VI . Elected pope in 1503, Julius set out to restore the Papal States, subjugating Perugia and Bologna (1508) and defeating Venice (1509) with the aid of the League of Michelangelo , from whom he commissioned the sculpture of Moses and the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. He also commissioned Raphael 's Vatican frescoes.