Summary During his reign (1534-1549), Pope Paul III transformed Rome from a derelict town to a dignified and even triumphal city. This richly illustrated book uses mainly unpublished documentation to investigate a range of multi-media urban, architectural and artistic projects promoted by Paul III. It adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to deepen our knowledge of Rome's visual culture after the Sack of 1527, providing a nuanced and fresh understanding of the social, economic and political conditions underpinning the creation of celebrated masterpieces, like Michelangelo's Last Judgement or his design of the Campidoglio. This study - the first entirely dedicated to Rome during the pontificate of Paul III - re-conceptualizes the periodization of Rome's early-modern history, which is traditionally polarized between the High Renaissance and the Baroque, and establishes Paul III's reign as the hinge between these two, seemingly disconnected, periods. In addressing these topics, artworks and urban spaces are analyzed as a means to engage with themes intensely discussed in recent scholarship, such as the creation of space, the inhabited urban environment and the intersection of art, politics and propaganda. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1. The Aftermath of the Sack: The Papacy of Paul III Part 1. The Sacred City: St Peter's, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Borgo Chapter 2. The Papal Coronation and the Ritual Uses of the Square in front of St Peter's Chapter 3. The Construction of Papal Authority: St Peter's and the Vatican Palace Chapter 4. Points of View: Castel Sant'Angelo, the Canale di Ponte and Sixteenth-Century Panopticism Part 2. The Piazza, the Palace, and the Promotion of the Farnese Dynasty Chapter 5. The Shaping of the Piazza and the Construction of a Farnese Neighborhood Chapter 6. Creating a Dynastic House: The Palazzo Farnese Chapter 7. The Cancelleria and the Visual Celebration of the Papal Deeds Part 3. The Papal Appropriation of Civic Ideologies: The Via del Corso and the Campidoglio Chapter 8. Rome as Stage: A Triumphal Entry and the Rhetoric of Peace Chapter 9. The Renewal of the via Lata and its Surroundings Chapter 10. The Refashioning of the Campidoglio