Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1566-1570 · 4 years · show in timeline

Rome 1567 and 1570: The Inquisition under Pius V had the humanists Pietro Carnesecchi and Aonio Paleario executed

Under Pius V the Roman Inquisition resumed its work with new zeal. Pietro Carnesecchi, formerly first secretary of Pope Clement VII, had accepted Luther's doctrine of justification by faith. Duke Cosimo de' Medici handed him over in 1566 to win the pope's favour. After more than a year in prison he was sentenced together with sixteen others and on 1 October 1567 publicly beheaded and then burned. The humanist Aonio Paleario, who had written an indictment of the popes, was accused in 1567 by the inquisitor of Milan, condemned to death in Rome in 1569 and executed in July 1570.

Period
1566-1570 (4 years)
Country
Italy
Institutions
Roman Inquisition
Pope Pius V
Category
Heresy trials, Murder
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?
Persons
Pietro Carnesecchi (humanist, formerly first secretary of Clement VII, executed by the Inquisition in 1567)
Aonio Paleario (humanist and reformer, executed by the Inquisition in 1570)

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. From July 1566 Carnesecchi lay in prison for over a year. On 21 September 1567 sentence of degradation and death was passed on him and sixteen others; ambassadors from Florence knelt before the pope in vain asking for mitigation. On 1 October 1567 he was publicly beheaded and then burned.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „From July 1566 he lay in prison over a year.“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „On the 21st of September 1567 sentence of degradation and death was passed on him and sixteen others, ambassadors from Florence vainly kneeling to the pope for some mitigation“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „on the 1st of October he was publicly beheaded and then burned“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Bd. 6 (1910), Abschnitt 4, The Inquisition in Naples
    „Pius V. retrieved the matter and Carnesecchi, whose correspondence with Giulia Gonzaga formed the basis of a second trial, was executed with other "heretics" on Oct. 1, 1567.“
    Italy, The Reformation in, Abschnitt 4, The Inquisition in Naples. Original
  2. Aonio Paleario, a humanist from Veroli, had already been charged with heresy by the Inquisition in 1542 over a tract on the death of Christ and had successfully defended himself. In Siena he wrote an indictment of the popes accusing the Roman Church of subordinating Scripture to tradition. In 1567 the inquisitor of Milan, Fra Angelo, formally accused him. He was tried in Rome, condemned to death in October 1569 and executed in July 1570.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „was made by the Inquisition the basis of a charge of heresy, from which, however, he successfully defended himself“
    Paleario, Aonio, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „against what he now believed to be the fundamental error of the Roman Church in subordinating Scripture to tradition“
    Paleario, Aonio, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „in 1567 he was formally accused by Fra Angelo the inquisitor of Milan. He was tried at Rome, condemned to death in October 1569, and executed in July 1570.“
    Paleario, Aonio, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy

Background

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. Carnesecchi was the son of a Florentine merchant, at twenty-five held several rich livings and was first secretary to Pope Clement VII. In the circle around Juan de Valdés in Naples, which aimed at reforming the Church from within, he accepted Luther's doctrine of justification by faith but repudiated schism. In 1557 he was summoned for the second time before the tribunal in Rome and did not appear.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „was first secretary to the pope“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „Under Valdes’ influence he whole-heartedly accepted Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith, though he repudiated a policy of schism.“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „In 1557 he was cited (for the second time) before the tribunal in Rome, but refused to appear.“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy

Response of the Church

  1. With Pius V the Inquisition renewed its activities with fiercer zeal than ever; according to Schaff-Herzog a storm of persecution covered all of Italy during his pontificate. Carnesecchi fled to Florence and thought himself safe there; Duke Cosimo betrayed him because he wished to curry favour with the pope. According to the Britannica Cosimo received the title of grand duke two years later as a reward.
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „the Inquisition renewed its activities with fiercer zeal than ever“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Bd. 6 (1910), Abschnitt 4, The Inquisition in Naples
    „A storm of persecution covered all parts of Italy in the years of his pontificate (1566-1572).“
    Italy, The Reformation in, Abschnitt 4, The Inquisition in Naples. Original
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Absatz 1
    „he was betrayed by Cosimo, the duke, who wished to curry favour with the pope“
    Carnesecchi, Pietro, Absatz 1. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911), Abschnitt Pius V.
    „Cosmo de’ Medici handed over Pietro Carnesecchi (and two years later received in reward the title of grand duke, Sept. 1569)“
    Pius (Abschnitt Pius V.), Abschnitt Pius V.. Original · Archive copy

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Carnesecchi, Pietro, 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Paleario, Aonio, 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  3. Reference work
    Encyclopædia Britannica, 11. Auflage (1911): Pius (Abschnitt Pius V.), 1 January 1911. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  4. Reference work
    The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Bd. 6 (1910): Italy, The Reformation in, 1 January 1910. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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