ASV - PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIAL AGAINST GALILEO GALILEI

Introduction

Ecumenic Councils

yr. 1245

Council of Lyon I

yr. 1439

Decree on the

union between the

Greek

and the Latin

Church yr. 1961

Vatican Ecumenic

Council II

Holy Years

yr. 1300

Boniface VIIIyr.

1470

Paul IIyr. 1975

Paul VI

Concordats

yr. [1122]

Concordat

of Worms

Universities

yr. 1254

Oxfordyr. 1303

Avignoneyr. 1303

Romeyr. 1306

Orléansyr. 1318

Cambridgeyr. 1343

Pisayr. 1347

Pragueyr. 1364

Kracowyr. 1365

Viennayr. 1410

BudapestSovreigns

PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIAL AGAINST GALILEO GALILEIRome, 1616•1633

Paper volume, 338x225 mm, ff. 228: modern green cardboard binding, with a parchment

back.

ASV, Misc., Arm. X, 204, ff. 84r, 207r

Despite all the long and extensive researches conducted by many scholars in the past, to

“discover” or better find again the proceedings of the inquisitorial trial against Galileo Galilei,

until now we only have a poor part of the original documents, which was extracted from the

voluminous inquisitorial files of the period of the trial (1633) against Galileo or shortly after.

This “abstract” was kept for many centuries in the archives of the Index Congregation (which

asked the Holy Office for those documents), then it went to Paris after the sad seizure of the

Vatican Archives in 1819 by Napoleon, then it passed into the hands of the Duke of Blacas and

it was finally sent to the Secret Vatican Archives by the Duke’s widow in 1843.

The volume, which was for a long time has been erroneously called “the trial of Galileo

Galilei”, is actually a group of documents collected after Galileo’s conviction by the Index

Congregation, in order to deal with, on the basis of the trial evidences and confessions, the

prohibition of his books and the teaching of his doctrine (it contains many letters of bishops or

papal representatives who certify the notification of this prohibition). Some of these documents

were taken from the lost papers (seemingly there were many volumes) on Galileo’s trial, of

which we still keep the foliation (one of these volumes had at least 560 folios, that is 1120

pages).

In document (a), you can see one of the original interrogations of Galileo Galilei before the

Inquisition (ff. 78r-87r). In particular, it is the final part of Galileo’s testimony, given on the 12th

April 1633 with his signature, according to the rule (line 8: Io Galileo Galilei ho deposto come di

sopra) and the beginning of the next interrogation (line 9: Die sabbathi 30 aprilis 1633.

Constitutus personaliter Romae in aula congregationum, coram et assistente quibus supra, in

meique <etc.> Galileus de Galileis de quo supra [...]).

After the condemnation of Galileo’s scientific theses, there was, as everyone knows, the

abjuration pronounced by the famous native of Pisa in the Church of the Minerva on the 2nd

June 1633. In the months that followed, Galileo obtained from Pope Urban VIII the possibility to

serve the imprisonment sentence in his villa at Arcetri (1st December 1633). From there, on the

17th December 1633, he sent an entirely holograph letter to his “patron” Cardinal Francesco

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ASV - PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIAL AGAINST GALILEO GALILEI

yr. 1246

Gran Khan

Güyükyr. 1654

Christina of

Sweden yr. 1693

Louis XIVyr. 1797

Napoleon I

Bonaparte

Famous personages

Artistsyr. [1517-1518

and around 1520]

Raffaello da

Urbino and

Antonio

da Sangalloyr.

1535

Michelangelo and

the Sistine Chapel

yr. [1550]

Michelangelo

and the Fabbica

di San Pietroyr.

1551

Giacomo

Tintoretto yr. 1821

Antonio Canova

Men of Lettersyr. 1263

Brunetto Latini yr.

1836

Giacomo Leopardi

Musiciansyr. 1770

Mozartyr. 1866

Gioacchino Rossini

Politicians and ecclesiasticsyr. 1054

Gisulfo IIyr. 1532

Francesco

Guicciardiniyr.

1597

Giordano Bruno

Saints

Barberini. In fact, it was thanks to his intervention that Galileo obtained this favour (b).

(a)

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ASV - PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIAL AGAINST GALILEO GALILEI

yr. 1223

St. Francesco di

Assisiyr. 1469

St. Francesca

Romana yr. 1563

St. Carlo

Borromeoyr.

[1577]

S. Teresa

d'Avilayr. 1623

St. Francesco

Saverio

Men of Scienceyrs. 1616-1633

Galileo Galilei

Christian confessions

yr. 1139

John II

Conmenusyr. 1141

John II

Conmenusyr. 1146

Manuel I

Conmenusyr. 1520

Warning

to Martin Luther

yr. 1521

Excommunication

to Martin Luther

yr. 1530

Devorce

of Henry VIII

Famous events

yr. 962

Charter

by Otto Iyr. 1308

Templarsyr. 1582

«Lunario nuovo»

Archives of the

Holy See VIII•IX Centuries

Liber diurnus

Romanorum

PontificumThe seals

(b)

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ASV - PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRIAL AGAINST GALILEO GALILEI

yr. 1355

Charles IV,

Emperor yr. 1556-

1598

Philip II,

King of Spain

The Archives: the past & the present ~ A tour of the Archives amid frescoes and documents

Documented historical events ~ The archival fonds ~ The diplomatics of the papal documents

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