Postcards

"Postmark 1611 - Hey, galileo, Nice dinner the other night. You scored some points in your arguments with those nitwits! --Barberini"

Galileo Galilei developed an early reputation for being argumentative and obstinate, even when he was still a student at the University of Pisa.

Galileo initially had a friendly relationship with cardinal Maffeo Barberini, a very powerful man who later became Pope Urban VII.

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"March 3, 1615 - Hi, Galileo! It's all good! Cardinal Bellarmine said everything's cool -- just make sure you mention that your description of a Sun-centered universe is hypothetical. Your friend, Monsignor Dini"

Galileo's strong support of the Copernican model of the universe, with the Sun at the center instead of Earth, as well as his habit of scoring points with zingers against opponents, made powerful enemies such as Dominican monk Tommaso Caccini (later described by Galileo as a venomous ignoramous), who wanted to bring him before the Inquisition.

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"February 25, 1616 - G, Good Luck in Rome tomorrow! Ha, ha--now you're going to get it! Tommaso Caccini"

On the orders of Pope Paul V, Cardinal Bellarmine "admonished" (ordered) Galileo to not believe, teach, or defend the Sun-centered model anymore; Galileo appeared to agree.

The matter appeared settled and all was cool, for awhile.

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"Postmark 1623 - Yo, good news! Guess who's the new Pope? I've decided to go by Pope Urban VIII! Now you can share your ideas about the Copernican model! --Your friend, former Cardinal Maffeo Barberini"

The new Pope urged Galileo to resume publishing his ideas on the Copernican system, as long as he didn't completely dismiss the Earth-centered system.

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"December 1629, I've finished my latest best-seller; surely it will be published soon and convince everyone!"

The Dialogue of the Two Chief World Systems was a debate among 3 speakers: brilliant Salviati presenting Galileo's arguments for the Sun-centered system, Sagredo who listened and asked questions, and simple-minded Simplico who presented weak arguments for the Earth-centered system.

Some of the Pope's own arguments were used by Simplico; this may have been poorly received by the Pope.

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"September 24, 1632 - Mr. Galileo, We have found that you violated the injunction against teaching about the Sun-centered Universe. Now we're going to get you! --The Inquisition"

Galileo's enemies convinced the Pope that his book was pure promotion of the Sun-centered model, and there was a commission appointed to investigate, which returned with a series of indictments.

Galileo was ordered to come to Rome and stand trial.

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"Postmark April 1633 - To Cardinal Francesco Barberini, I spoke with Galileo yesterday, and after a lot of fuss and arguments, he agreed that he made a mistake and he had overstepped his boundaries in his book. --Commissary-General Firenzuola of the Inquisition (cc: Galileo)"

The Congregation (Inquisition) in charge of the trial disagreed, with some wanting to imprison and torture Galileo and others like Francesco Barberini (the Pope's nephew) wanting a compromise that included freeing Galileo and publishing a revised version of his book. In the final sentence, Galileo's book was put on the prohibited list and Galileo was placed under house arrest.

Initially, Galileo was held in the custody of various politicians. In late 1633, he moved back to his own house outside of Florence, where he died in 1642.

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"Postmark 1992 - Dear Galileo, Okay, it turns out you were right. The Earth does move. --The Pope"

The Inquisition's ban on reprinting most of Galileo's works was lifted in 1718. In 1758, the Catholic Church removed their ban on works advocating the Sun-centered solar system, and all traces of official opposition to heliocentrism disappeared in 1835. In 1992, Pope John Paul II officially expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, and conceded that the Earth was not stationary.

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