Pope Urban VIII
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Pope Urban VIII, born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal territory by force of arms and advantageous politicking, and was also a prominent patron of the arts and a reformer of Church missions.
Portrait by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c. 1631–1632 (oil on canvas, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica)
c. 1598 painting of Maffeo Barberini at age 30 by Caravaggio.
Gold quadrupla coin of Pope Urban VIII, struck at the Avignon mint, dated 1629
The icon of the La Madonna della Febbre which was crowned in 1631 making it as the first Marian image to receive a pontifical coronation.
Galileo affair
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The Galileo affair began around 1610 and culminated with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was prosecuted for his support of heliocentrism, the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the centre of the universe.
Photomontage of the moons of Jupiter, named after Galileo. Galileo viewed these moons as a smaller Copernican system within the Solar System and used them to support heliocentrism.
Christian painting of God creating the cosmos (Bible Moralisee, French, 13th century)
The Council of Trent (1545–63) sitting in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. The Roman Inquisition suspected Galileo of violating the decrees of the council. Museo Diocesano Tridentino, Trento.
Pope Paul V (1552–1621), who ordered that the inquisitorial commission's 1616 judgement be delivered to Galileo by Cardinal Bellarmine (Caravaggio)