Nicholas V Reforms the Papal States

Timeline

1. 1447Rome · LazioThe College of Cardinals elected the Bishop of Bologna, Tomaso Parentucelli, as pope, taking the name Nicholas V. He inherited a devastated Rome after the Great Schism and the Angevin occupation, facing exhausted finances and neglected city defenses.
2. 1447–1450Papal States · Papal StatesNicholas V reformed the finances of the Curia, restored control over the fiefs around Rome, cut redundant staff, and strengthened tax administration, gradually restoring order to the Papal States out of the political chaos of the late Middle Ages.
3. 1448–1455Rome · LazioThe pope vigorously sponsored the translation of Greek and Latin classics, expanded the Vatican Palace and St. Peter's Basilica, and commissioned architects such as Alberti to plan urban renewal, shaping Rome into a center of Renaissance scholarship and art.