Biagio Martinelli (

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

1463 –

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

1544), better known as Biagio da Cesena (meaning "from Cesena", his native city), was a 16th-century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

priest and Vatican official who served as Papal Master of Ceremonies. He is widely known for his negative reaction to the nude figures presented in

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

's fresco of ''

The Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, resu ...

'' in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. In 1518, Biagio became Papal Master of Ceremonies to Pope Leo X. He would also act in this role to Popes Adrian VI, Clement VII, and Paul III. In a story well known from the 16th century onwards, in a number of slightly different versions, Biagio is said to have complained about ''The Last Judgment'', saying "it was disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully". Biagio went on to say that the painting was more suitable "for the public baths and taverns" than a papal chapel. In response, Michelangelo worked Biagio's face into the scene as

Minos Main injector neutrino oscillation search (MINOS) was a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) experiment in 1998. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI ...

, judge of the underworld (in the far bottom-right corner of the fresco) with donkey ears (indicating foolishness), while his nudity is covered by a coiled snake biting his penis. It was widely said that when Biagio complained to Pope Paul III, the pontiff joked that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell and the portrait would have to remain. The story is given in

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ide ...

's ''

Lives of the Artists ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...

'', and expanded in his 2nd edition. But Vasari does not mention the Pope's response. This was first reported by

Lodovico Domenichi Lodovico Domenichi (151529 August 1564) was an Italian translator. Biography Lodovico Domenichi was born in Piacenza (Italy) in 1515. After studying Law at the University of Padua, he pursued a literary career. He lived in Piacenza, Venice and F ...

.Norman; in Domenichi's
Historia di detti et fatti notabili di diversi Principi & huommi privati moderni
', "Papa Paolo Terzo", (1556), pp. 698–699 (misnumbered by the printer as "668"; the numbering on the pages goes "... 697, 668, 699...) However, it was often added to Vasari's text in later editions of his book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biagio da Cesena 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 1463 births 1544 deaths People from Cesena