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Morandi's Last Prophecy and the End of Renaissance Politics
One year before Galileo's, another trial was the talk of Rome. The city's most notorious astrologer--Orazio Morandi, abbot of the monastery of Santa Prassede--was brought before the governor's court on charges of possessing prohibited books, fortune telling, and political chicanery. His most serious crime was to have predicted the death of Pope Urban VIII and allowed news of this to spread as far as Spain, where cardinals quickly embarked for Italy to attend a conclave that would not occur for fourteen years. The pope, furious at such astrological and political effrontery, personally ordered the criminal inquiry that led to Morandi's arrest, trial, and death in prison, probably by assassination.
Based on new evidence, this book chronicles Morandi's fabulous rise and fall against the backdrop of enormous political and cultural turmoil that characterized Italy in the early seventeenth century. It documents a world in which occult knowledge commanded power, reveals widespread libertinism behind monastery walls, and illuminates the arduous metamorphosis of intellectual culture already underway. It also sets the stage for, and lends new understanding to, the trial of Galileo that would follow shortly.
The mystery of Morandi concerns the basic compulsion to advance in a status-drenched society and the very nature of knowledge at the birth of science. Told here in colorful detail, Morandi's story is fascinating in its own right. Beyond that, it allows us to glimpse the underside of early modern high society as never before.
Based on new evidence, this book chronicles Morandi's fabulous rise and fall against the backdrop of enormous political and cultural turmoil that characterized Italy in the early seventeenth century. It documents a world in which occult knowledge commanded power, reveals widespread libertinism behind monastery walls, and illuminates the arduous metamorphosis of intellectual culture already underway. It also sets the stage for, and lends new understanding to, the trial of Galileo that would follow shortly.
The mystery of Morandi concerns the basic compulsion to advance in a status-drenched society and the very nature of knowledge at the birth of science. Told here in colorful detail, Morandi's story is fascinating in its own right. Beyond that, it allows us to glimpse the underside of early modern high society as never before.
- GenresHistory
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2002
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March 28, 2015
In this book, Dooley has managed to pull off the improbable task of piecing together a fully fleshed biography from shreds of information hiding in numerous archives in Rome, Florence and elsewhere.
Orazio Morandi was a minor historical figure, but one with an irresistible story. Born around 1570, the son of a minor Roman patrician, he studied law at the prestigious University of Rome(La Sapienza), but then changed course and joined a religious order deep in forests of Tuscany. He worked his way to becoming the abbot general of the Vallombrosans in Florence. A fascination with alchemy and the world of the occult lead to friendships with Medici princes Don Antonio and Don Giovanni. He was on familiar terms with Galileo and other experimenters of the time.
He secured a post as the abbot of a Monastery in Rome, and developed a reputation as one of leading astrologers in Europe. Unfortunately, his life then took another precipitous turn, this time for the worse, due to a severe lapse in judgement. In a horoscope that should have never been made public, he predicted the death of Pope Urban VIII. The pope lived, and was not at all amused. Records of the ensuing civil trial has left us details on which much of the book is anchored.
How can you say no to a real-life story that involves loyal monks breaking through the floorboards of an office sealed by order of the inquisition. They spirit away wheelbarrow loads of banned books and manuscripts. You will just have to read the book to find out what happens next.
Orazio Morandi was a minor historical figure, but one with an irresistible story. Born around 1570, the son of a minor Roman patrician, he studied law at the prestigious University of Rome(La Sapienza), but then changed course and joined a religious order deep in forests of Tuscany. He worked his way to becoming the abbot general of the Vallombrosans in Florence. A fascination with alchemy and the world of the occult lead to friendships with Medici princes Don Antonio and Don Giovanni. He was on familiar terms with Galileo and other experimenters of the time.
He secured a post as the abbot of a Monastery in Rome, and developed a reputation as one of leading astrologers in Europe. Unfortunately, his life then took another precipitous turn, this time for the worse, due to a severe lapse in judgement. In a horoscope that should have never been made public, he predicted the death of Pope Urban VIII. The pope lived, and was not at all amused. Records of the ensuing civil trial has left us details on which much of the book is anchored.
How can you say no to a real-life story that involves loyal monks breaking through the floorboards of an office sealed by order of the inquisition. They spirit away wheelbarrow loads of banned books and manuscripts. You will just have to read the book to find out what happens next.
Displaying 1 of 1 review