Cristoforo Roncalli (Il Pomarancio): A Master of Roman Mannerism Cristoforo Roncalli, known universally as Il Pomarancio – meaning “the pomegranate” after his hometown – stands as a pivotal figure in the artistic landscape of 16th-century Rome. Born around 1553 in Pomarance, Tuscany, he emerged from a milieu steeped in humanist scholarship and artistic tradition, inheriting the legacy of Florentine Renaissance masters like Michelangel…