SAINTS AND GASTRONOMY / 16
Clement VII, when food is deadly
Descendant of the Medici family of Florence, he died after two days of excruciating suffering after eating a poisonous mushroom, Amanita phalloides. He was a political strategist and diplomat. Under his pontificate, several noteworthy historical events took place, from the Sack of Rome in 1527 to the Anglican Schism. As a great patron of the arts, it was he who commissioned Michelangelo to fresco the Sistine Chapel with the Last Judgement.
