on top of walls originally put up by Pope Leo IV in 847-851 to protect the Vatican from Saracens who had sailed their warships as far as the mouth of the Tiber and swept in to sack the city.

The picture of the Holy Father with the elephants inevitably evokes the memory of Annone, a majestic 4-year-old albino elephant from India, who five centuries ago was the pet of Pope Leo X and ...

But he met a sticky end - stabbed to death by his own cousin after an argument over a woman. Pope Leo X had more exotic tastes. Famed for his extravagant lifestyle, he was entertained by young ...