agostino chigi and raphael died within a month of each other.n 1521, the next year, leo x was dead, and with him, the hedonistic culture of their age. [bells ringing] the grand presentations of papal rome had masked the declining power of papal authority-- religious, political, and military. in 1527, italy was invaded by an imperial army from north of the alps. rome was sacked. pietro aretino described the traumatic events. "screams rose to high heaven. "doors were beaten in. "the whole population took to its heels, "weeping and trying to hide. "blood flowed over the pavements. "people were being slaughtered. the tortured shrieked. "prisoners begged for mercy. women tore their hair. "it was pitiful to see fire consuming gilded lodgers and painted palaces." michelangelo's last judgement, painted in the 1530s on the wall beneath the sistine ceiling, evokes a new mood of retribution. rome did revive, of course, and the papacy gained new strength for its fight with reformation. michelangelo continued with his monumental projects. he became architect