This course hinges around the Sack of Rome in 1527. This event was a social, political and artistic explosion. It redrew the map of Europe, and some would argue it marked the end of the high renaissance. This course aims to explain what happened, why, and to examine its importance to Italy, to the city of Rome, to the arts and to the artists affected. The course is divided into three sections: Before, During and After. Rome in the early 1520s was a paradise. Arts flourished under the patronage of two Medici Popes, Leo X and Clement VII. Works by Raphael and his workshop feature, but we will also look at the so-called minor arts to demonstrate the richness of the material culture of this period. To describe the events of 6 May 1527 and the months that followed requires a deeply historical approach, and relies on maps and views of the city, drawings and prints by Maarten van Heemskerk, and a number of manuscript sources. We will also visit the actual locations that survive (the Porta Santo Spirito, Castel Sant’Angelo, the Passetto del Borgo, Casa di Prospero Mochi). The section of the course that looks at the aftermath develops two distinct themes: the gradual renewal of the arts in Rome and how the city, its people and its artists had been changed by the experience; and the artistic diaspora that followed (and as a result the stylistic revolution that this brought to the regions of Italy and the courts of Europe). The endpoint is probably the triumphal entrance of Charles V to Rome in 1536. The course places great emphasis on study from original works of art and has numerous site visits, backed up by classroom discussion. A trip to London is also planned.