ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the unusual case of Jean Du Bellay, who, turning his back on France, decided to put down roots in Rome, and to live the life-style of his fellow cardinals, like Rodolfo Pio and Ippolito d'Este, constructing an imposing villa within the peribolus of the Baths of Diocletian, and filling it with his rich collection of antiquities. Henri II's insistence that his cardinals reside in Rome brought more French princes of the church into direct contact with the remains of classical civilisation, and despite the development under Paul III of controls limiting the export of marbles, a growing number of licences were obtained. This chapter devotes to Du Bellay, the rather different role played by Georges d'Armagnac also deserves attention. The two manuscript histories of the churches of S. Bernardo and S. Caterina disagree on where Du Bellay built the villa in which he was to die.
