Pope Leo IV (died 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death in 855. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the Leonine Wall around Vatican Hill to protect the city. Pope Leo organized a league of Italian cities who fought and won the sea Battle of Ostia against the Saracens.
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Pope Leo IV in the context of List of extant papal tombs
A pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Catholic Church. Approximately 100 papal tombs are at least partially extant, representing fewer than half of the 266 deceased popes, from Saint Peter to Pope Francis.
For the first few centuries in particular, little is known of the popes and their tombs, and available information is often contradictory. As with other religious relics, multiple sites claim to house the same tomb. Furthermore, many papal tombs that recycled sarcophagi and other materials from earlier tombs were later recycled for their valuable materials or combined with other monuments. For example, the tomb of Pope Leo I was combined with Leos II, III, and IV circa 855, and then removed in the seventeenth century and placed under his own altar, below Alessandro Algardi's relief, Fuga d'Attila. The style of papal tombs has evolved considerably throughout history, tracking trends in the development of church monuments. Notable papal tombs have been commissioned from sculptors such as Michelangelo and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Pope Leo IV in the context of Leonine City
The Leonine City (Latin: Civitas Leonina) is the part of the city of Rome which, during the Middle Ages, was enclosed with the Leonine Wall, built by order of Pope Leo IV in the 9th century.
This area was located on the opposite side of the Tiber from the seven hills of Rome, and had not been enclosed within the ancient city's Aurelian Walls, built between 271 and 275. After Christianity had risen to prominence and the Western Roman Empire had collapsed, the area had to be defended through the construction of a new wall, since it housed St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Leo IV in the context of Pope Leo
Pope Leo is the name of fourteen heads of the Catholic Church:
- Pope Leo I (the Great; saint; 440–461)
- Pope Leo II (saint; 682–683)
- Pope Leo III (saint; 795–816)
- Pope Leo IV (saint; 847–855)
- Pope Leo V (903)
- Pope Leo VI (928–929)
- Pope Leo VII (936–939)
- Pope Leo VIII (964–965)
- Pope Leo IX (saint; 1049–1054)
- Pope Leo X (1513–1521)
- Pope Leo XI (1605)
- Pope Leo XII (1823–1829)
- Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903)
- Pope Leo XIV (2025–present)