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 he returned to Milan in the December, while the next year the French were expelled, so they remained on with the master.

But Milan, in consequence of the political revolution, was now in such a disturbed state that Leonardo knew it could no longer be the home of the Fine Arts, so he resolved to settle down in Rome, where Giovanni de' Medici had been elected to fill the Pontifical Throne. The following note in his own handwriting gives us the date: 'I set out from Milan for Rome on the 24th day of September, 1513, with Giovanni, Francesco Melzi, Salai, Lorenzo, and II Fanfoia.' That he went to Florence en route is admitted by his biographers, and thence to Rome in the company, if not in the pay, of Giuliano de' Medici (II Magnifico), the Pope's brother. This meeting with Giuliano de' Medici in Florence is deserving of special notice, as it is fraught with great significance, as I shall point out later on. Moreover, during his short stay here he must have called on the Giocondos and other friends and taken final leave of them. That he had decided to settle permanently in the capital is shown by his having taken his friend Melzi and his whole household with him, as well as his unfinished pictures, drawings and manuscripts. Nor was he singular nor rash in his decision, for some of the greatest artists of the day had already gathered in the capital, in anticipation of the patronage and encouragement the recently elected Pontiff would bestow upon Art. How fully the anticipation was realized is matter of history. Under Leo X Rome once more rose to be mistress of the civilized world. Art and Literature flourished. Those engaged in them prospered, with the exception of Leonardo, by far the greatest genius of them all. He soon found his hopes and plans again shattered, and, aged and disappointed, he quitted his native land for France, in the service of Francis I, never to return.