We begin our story with Guliano della Rovere. As Pope Julius II, he was head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in 1513. He also was an ardent follower of astrology. His personal astrologer, Antonio Campanazzo, postponed Julius’ coronation to make sure that the event would fall on an auspicious date. During his time in office, Julius ordered the demolition of the sacred early Christian basilica, built over the tomb of St Peter. It was to be replaced with the new Saint Peter’s Basilica, which was to become a world famous landmark. Again, Julius’ astrologers were called in to elect the most auspicious moment for the laying of the foundation stone. The date the astrologers elected was 18 April 1506.

The chart above, published by Luca Gaurico, who we will talk about in more detail later on, shows the moment…