The Papacy in the Late Middle Ages
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| Pope Paul II |
Pope Paul II (1464-1471)
Pietro Barbo was the son of a Venetian merchant and related through his mother to Eugenius IV. He was easy-going and open-handed. As often happened, he was chosen in part in reaction to the rather severe Pius II.
His pontificate was unremarkable. He gave plenty of splendid pageants, didn't annoy anyone with unnecessary severities, and made no serious political enemies. He also accomplished little.
He earned a reputation for being anti-humanist because he ran one particular group of them out of town. Because they were a literary group, led by Platina, they responded by characterizing Paul as an enemy of humanist learning. He wasn't. He was an active patron of painters, for instance; but he was indeed opposed to the Roman Academy, which he suppressed.