An apparently profligate lifestyle may seem surprising in one who expressed an interest in ecclesiastical affairs and reform, but the role of cardinal was multifaceted. If the degree of spiritual concern with which he ran his bene- fices was left in practice to his own conscience, the promotion of a cardinal's reputation and that of the Church was not. Image was important both to those cardinals resident in Rome and to the pope as the head of the Church. Dignitas, as outlined by Paolo Cortesi in his handbook on the cardinalate, De cardinalatu (1510) and in the Lateran Council bull Reformationis curiae of 5 May 1514, was vital. It was sustained by maintaining a large staff – both to run the cardinal's household and to accompany him on his official outings – and by suitably palatial accommodation in which to house his famiglia and to offer entertainment. Whether Paris de' Grassis was correct in maintaining that Sauli was at the forefront in ostentatious display will become clear through an examination of his residences in Rome, his household and his expenses.

From the Vatican Palace to Santa Maria in Via Lata

Documents concerning Sauli's resignation of benefices, drawn up ‘in the apostolic palace in the room of the usual residence of the aforesaid Bendinello’, show that from at least 1506 until 1510 Sauli, as a cubicularius summi pontificis (chamberlain), was resident in the Vatican Palace.