Charles V, Statue by Scipione Li Volsi, Palermo, Sicily, Italy,1630 (photo)

Italy: Charles V (Carlo V; 1500 - 1558), ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire, on his return from the conquest of Tunis, Piazza Bologni, Palermo, Sicily. Statue by Italian sculptor Scipione Li Volsi, 1630. Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire (as Charles I of Spain) from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. He stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556.

Through inheritance, Charles brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles), and were the first to be described as 'the empire on which the sun never sets'.