1506

January–June

• January 14 - The classical statue of Laocoön and His Sons is unearthed in Rome. On the recommendation of Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo, Pope Julius II purchases it, and places it on public display in the Vatican a month later.
• January 22 - The Swiss Guard arrives at the Vatican, to serve as permanent ceremonial and palace guards under Pope Julius II.
• April 18 - Pope Julius II lays the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica.
• April 19-21 - Lisbon Massacre: Thousands of Jews are tortured and killed by Catholics in Lisbon, Portugal.

  July–December

• August 6 - Battle of Kletsk: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate.
• August 19 - Sigismund I the Old succeeds his brother, as king of Poland.
• November 6 - Pope Julius II personally leads his troops into Bologna, retaking the city from the excommunicated tyrant Giovanni II Bentivoglio.

  Date unknown

• The Portuguese mariner Tristão da Cunha sights the islands of Tristan da Cunha, naming them after himself.
• In Ming Dynasty China, the costs of the courier system are met by a tax in silver on land, instead of corvée labor service.
• Duarte Barbosa returns to Lisbon.
• Johannes Trithemius becomes abbot of the monastery of St. Jacob, at Würzburg.
• Leonardo da Vinci completes most of his work on the Mona Lisa.