Describe Rome in the early 1400s and explain some of the problems the city was experiencing. Use the words from the word bank to fill in the blanks. words: architecture, deteriorated, roman, centuries, exile, Rome, crumbling, pope, stadium, debris, renaissance, thieves

had been the home of the Christian Church for centuries before the popes were exiled to Avignon, France. According to tradition, the apostle Peter was buried there, and the bishops of Rome, who were the popes, had directed the church’s affairs in Western Europe for . While the popes were in , the conditions in Rome badly, and by the early 1400s the city was in ruins. Once magnificent buildings such as the Colosseum were . The housed scores of filthy taverns. prowled the ancient baths. Some buildings and courtyards were overgrown with vines and shrubs and littered with . The Forum, which was the heart of Rome, was filled with wild animals and neglected vegetation. When the returned to Rome in 1417, he quickly set about trying to restore the city. The popes that followed continued to restore the city until it became a magnificent center of art and .