Changes

==The Popes and the Politics of Italy==

The Pope after the return to Rome were eager to reestablish their role in the politics of Italy. The Papacy was in many ways just another territorial ruler and they saw no contradiction between this and their spiritual role. The Popes owned extensive lands in Central and Southern Italy and also in Southern France. The Papacy had lost much of its authority in their own lands surrounding Rome and successive Pontiffs sought to reclaim these territories, which, were known as the Papal States. Their priority was to reclaim their rights in the Papal States, during the ‘Babylonian Captivity’ of the Pope in Avignon local rulers had seized much of central Italy.<ref> Duffy, p. 313</ref>. It was not until the start of the 16th century that the Popes had full control of the Papal States. The Popes reformed the States and they began to resemble the nation-states of Europe with a centralized bureaucracy and standing army. To secure their position the Popes made themselves the absolute ruler of these lands, they curbed the powers of the feudal lords and reduced their powers.