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In 1503, Giuliano della Rovere was elected as Pope. By choosing Julius II as his name, he paid homage to the early Christian Pope Julius I, but he also announced his intention to style himself as a new Julius Caesar.

Julius II’s pontificate lasted a decade and in that time he proved himself to be a most able and powerful man, quite like his ancient namesake. He fought wars against those who encroached upon the Papal States, insisting that Cardinals and the Sistine Chapel Choir accompany him to the battlefield. He tore down the 1200 year-old St. Peter’s Basilica and commissioned his architect Bramante to design a new church (it would take 120 years for it to be finished). He collected ancient statuary, hired Raphael to paint his private apartments, and insisted that Michelangelo fresco the Sistine Chapel ceiling. As if that were not enough, Julius II also showed himself to be an urban planner, for he funded the cutting of two long straight streets through Rome’s dense and twisted medieval urban fabric. He intended that these streets, the Via della Lungara and the Via Giulia, would help pilgrims reach the Vatican with ease and efficiency.

Along the Via Giulia (a street named, of course, for Julius himself) Julius and Bramante intended to construct the Palazzo del Tribunali, the first real office building to be constructed since antiquity, and a palace from which the city of Rome would have been administrated. The project was begun in 1508 with the placement of large rusticated travertine blocks, but difficulties soon forced its abandonment. Eventually a palace was built atop the travertine blocks but it didn’t follow Bramante’s design.

Now, that palace – with its Renaissance rusticated travertine blocks – has been transformed into a five-star hotel called the St. George. Designed by Lorenzo Bellini, the hotel’s lobby showcases the Renaissance basement constructed by Bramante (see photos above). There are 64 rooms, a charming terrace overlooking the elite Via Giulia, as well as a spa. The hotel restaurant, Sofa, is quickly becoming trendy, and the hotel also hosts a wine bar and a cigar bar for the pleasure of its guests.