Julius II seized Bologna from the Bentivoglio family in 1506 after a military campaign he personally led — one of the more extraordinary moments of a pope commanding troops in the field. The Bologna mint's production under his authority was a direct assertion of papal temporal power over a city that had resisted Roman control for decades. The giulio denomination itself was named for him, introduced during his pontificate as part of a broader effort to rationalize the chaotic coinage of the Papal States.
Bologna's issues differ subtly from the Roman mint's giulii in fabric and die style — the CNI X documentation captures several die marriages specific to this mint.
Julius II seized Bologna from the Bentivoglio family in 1506 after a military campaign he personally led — one of the more extraordinary moments of a pope commanding troops in the field. The Bologna mint's production under his authority was a direct assertion of papal temporal power over a city that had resisted Roman control for decades. The giulio denomination itself was named for him, introduced during his pontificate as part of a broader effort to rationalize the chaotic coinage of the Papal States.
Bologna's issues differ subtly from the Roman mint's giulii in fabric and die style — the CNI X documentation captures several die marriages specific to this mint.