the papacy to a mere appendage of secular authority, religious issues would become little more than state policy.... Clement VII attempted to restrain the expansion of royal power and maintain the independence of Rome and of papal prerogatives." Ecclesiastically, Clement is remembered for orders protecting Jews from the Inquisition, approving the Theatine, Barnabite, and Capuchin Orders, and securing the island of Malta for the Knights of Malta. In a final analysis of Clement's papacy, historian E.R. Chamberlin writes, "in all but his personal attributes, Clement VII was a protagonist in a Greek tragedy, the victim called upon to endure the results of actions committed long before. Each temporal claim of his predecessors had entangled the Papacy just a little more in the lethal game of politics, even while each moral debasement divorced it just a little more from the vast body of Christians from whom ultimately it drew its strength." More charitably, modern historian James Grubb writes, "indeed, at a certain point it is difficult to see how he might have fared much better, given the obstacles he faced. Certainly his predecessors since the end of the Schism had experienced their share of opposition, but did any have to fight on so many fronts as Clement, and against such overwhelming odds? At one time or another he battled the Holy Roman Empire (now fueled by precious metals from America), the French, the Turks, rival Italian powers, fractious forces within the papal states, and entrenched interests within the Curia itself. That the precious liberta d’Italia (freedom from outside domination) should have been lost irrevocably seems more an inevitability than a product of Clement's particular failings. He tried his utmost...." Portrayals The life of the second Medici pope has been portrayed in numerous films and tv accounts, notably the Netflix show 'Medici; The Magnificent' where the figure is portrayed by British actor Jacob Dudman. Patronage As both a cardinal and Pope, Giulio de’ Medici "commissioned or supervised many of the best-known artistic undertakings of the cinquecento." Of those works, he's best known for Michelangelo's monumental fresco in the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgment; Raphael’s iconic altarpiece The Transfiguration; Michelangelo's sculptures for the Medici Chapel in Florence; Raphael's architectural Villa Madama in Rome; and Michelangelo's innovative Laurentian Library in Florence. "As a patron, [Giulio de’ Medici] proved extraordinarily confident in technical affairs," which allowed him to suggest workable architectural and artistic solutions for