5 The
Venetian
ambassador's palace, called S.
Sarpi - 1868 - Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi
Besides Poma,
there were Alessandro Parasio of Ancona, Giovanni of Florence, the son of
Paolo, and Pasquale de Bitonto, also a soldier. They were men well fitted
for such deeds, as they were all outlaws. Their spy, or guide, was a
priest, Michel Vlti, a Bergamasco, who officiated in the church of the
Holy Trinity, in Venice; and by whom there is no doubt that this
deed had been planned for many months before it came to light,
because this priest came every morning during Lent to the Convent of
the Servi, under pretence of liking the preaching of Fra Fulgenzio.
He came to the door of the pulpit, which corresponds to the inner
part of the Convent, and conversed courteously with Fra Fulgenzio,
and sought counsel as to some scruples of conscience, and he con-
tinued to go to his Convent to visit him and to converse on spiritual
matters.
Before the successful issue of this execrable act, Fra Fulgenzio had
observed, and that innumerable times, as he came home with the
Father and his companion, that he encountered Fra Michel Viti on
the bridge of S. Fosca, sometimes here and sometimes there, now with
one soldier, then with two, who proved afterwards to be the murderers
above mentioned.
And because Fra Fulgenzio saw him frequently look intently at
the Father, and often return to look back at him, Fra Fulgenzio
warned him, but the Father repressed his curiosity as showing too
much suspicion. '
On the tenth of October sentence against the assassins was decreed
by the Council of Ten in the form of a proclamation, promising large
rewards to those who took them alive. '
This was followed by a public edict for the better security of Fra
Paolo who still continued in great bodily suffering.
"Proclamation'hy the Republic of Venice to secure the personal
safety of R. M. Paulo, Servite and Professor of Theology, according
to the resolution of the Senate, 27th day of October, 1607. "
The above Proclamation by the Prince, was laid before the Senate
for deliberation, on the 27th October, 1607.
Appendix.
2
1
S.
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? E1'. 55. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 157
"In reference to the atrocious attempt at assassination, with design
to take the life of R. P. M. Paolo, of our Republic, by well-known
wicked and insidious means, and according to the usual gracious
protection which we are accustomed to grant to those of our subjects,
who with self devotion and fidelity render good and honourable service
to the Republic, as the worthy P. Paulo, a person of distinguished
learning, great courage and virtue, and of exemplary life has done, we
desire, in addition to the public deliberations already made, to make
known, and by still further proof to testify how dear his personal
safety is to our Republic. Therefore We cause it to be publicly proclaim-
ed, that if in future, any person or persons shall be found, of any
degree or condition whatsoever, who shall be so bold, as for the future
to attempt to attack in any place or manner whatsoever, without
exception, either in this city or any other place of our State, the afore-
said P. M. Paulo, he, or they, who in defence of this Father takes or
kills any such person or persons who attack him, shall claim, if he
consign them dead (they being legally proved amenable 'to justice), the
sum of two thousand ducats, taken from the property of the delinquent
or delinquents, if they have any (which property shall be accounted
as if confiscated) and if they have not any, from the monies of the
public treasury to be paid immediately. And on consigning them
alive, they shall receive four thousand ducats as aforesaid, from the
said monies of the public treasury,' to be paid immediately. And if
any one shall make known to justice, any person or persons, who shall
treat of, plan, or come to this city with intent to injure the said P.
M. Paolo in any way whatever, if any culprit be taken, tried, and
punished, the informer shall receive in the aforesaid manner the same
sum of two thousand ducats from the treasury, and if he be an ac-
complice, he shall go unpunished, and secresy shall be observed. It
being our resolve and will, that the meritorious P. M. Paolo, as well
as any other subject, who has faithfully and effectually served and
serves the Republic, shall be respected, and entitled by his own merit
to public protection. 29th October, 1607. Published on the stairs of
S. Marco, and of the Rialto, by Paschel di Bianchi, Comandator. "
The words, "any person or persons of any degree or condition
whatsoever, who shall be so bold as to attempt," etc. , etc. , the life
of P. M. Paolo, did not escape observation, and it was evident that
the Doge and Senate of Venice, intended the above proclamation to
include all.
Now let the reader turn for a little time to the Ducal palace, and
mark the countenances of the friends of Sarpi, 'the aged Donato, the
eloquent Morosini, and those of the Council of Ten and their Secretaries
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? 168 THE LIFE OF / [A. D. 1607.
who saw the secret communications from the Contarini, no doubt but
that words of surprise or angry exclamation burst from their lips when
they read their Ambassador's letter of this date. Miserable as was the
employment, Contarini did not shrink from his duty, but recorded his
endeavors in various and numerous despatches to the Doge and Senate
and Council of Ten which testify a sincere love of his country and
justice to the man whose only crime was, that he had striven for his
country's weal.
" Most Serene Prince,
" For the due execution of what your Serenity enjoins me, by letters
dated the 6th inst. , received on the day before yesterday, and moreover
for the vent of my own personal sympathy and affection, which has been
greatly agitated by so momentous an accident as has been that which has
befallen the person of M. Paul, I shall be most vigilant for the investiga-
tion of everything that shall seem to me fitting, through all channels,
especially through that one which made the first statement to me, as . I
respectfully notified in my letters of the 29th ult. , who, moreover, told me
this week that one of the brothers-in-law of the aforesaid ancient, who
left this with him, is Grandonio. I have likewise heard from a confident
of mine, a resident in Ancona, that Alessandro Parassio, one of the pro-
claimed assassins, was outlawed at Ancona about two years ago, for hav-
ing harboured some homicides in his house; and, on some little property
of his being confiscated, it was saved by his sisters, resident at Venice in
the house of certain merchants, named Gottardi, his relations; and he was
a bravo by profession, having fought several times, as well in Ancona as
at Venice. Poma, likewise one of the proclaimed, was seen in this city
about the month of June last; and, from what I have hitherto been able
to elicit, it seems that he then left for Naples, his departure being attri-
buted to his finding himself half a bankrupt. Gratize cfic.
" Rome, 13 Oct. , 1607. "
The next letter opens with the very warm expression of his feelings,
" on hearing of the villany committed on the person of the M. Paulo of
the Servites, " and the ambassador" trusts in God that he may be able to
penetrate'it. " The Pope had again blamed the theologians; but, such was
the fear of the ambassador for the Pope, that he adds, " I have deemed it
expedient to pass the whole over in silence, waiting for a better opportu-
nity. The Inquisitor deplored F. P. 's accident. I sent the Secretary to
him, who said he bore him no ill will; and said that he had asked him,
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? 151. 54. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 169
through the Procurator General of the Servites, to come to Rome a month
ago, and that he would be caressed and well received, and the affair ter-
minate reputably for the Republic.
" He suspects, not indeed by senators and intelligent noblemen, but
by the people, that it may be supposed to proceed hence, a sup-
position which could not enter the minds of judicious persons as there
is no similar example on record, either by word or deed, in any
century, for that the Church does not proceed by these indirect and
diabolical means; he, the Inquisitor, Was, therefore, annoyed by the
vulgar, who are blindly carried away by every sinister idea. But he
considered it as certain that, as the crime had been committed by
three, some, if not all, would be taken; and that the truth of the
fact, moreover, would not be known through other channels; and he
observed, as Maestro Paulo was not known to have any enemies, it
may be conjectured that this may have been plotted by some of his
friars, on account of some disgust and monkish persecution, and that
his opinion was shared by the Cardinal Zappata, with whom he had
held a long conversation. "
The Ambassador, Contarini, also enclosed, for the perusal of the
Council of Ten, part of a letter from Bimini, in which the assassins
are spoken of as "those three who gave it to the theologians, and
were here on Friday evening, flying from death, God help them! " '
and further, Contarini enclosed in one of his dispatches a deposition
of Flavio's which speaks for itself. ' " The men who wounded Fra
Paolo passed before me in two carriages with long and short arque-
buses, boasting of having killed Fra Paolo, and they had a passport
from the Legate of Bologna that they might carry their weapons
through the Papal States. They had their arquebuses and pistols ready
loaded, even at table. Poma was recognized, as also his son dressed as
a Priest, and one Parasio of Ancona (all Pomas) who acted as his
oil broker at Venice. The hosts said if they had known of the sentence
they would have killed them. " Lengthened investigations were continued
by the Ambassador and his Secretary during the darkness of night,
and all these were carefully reported. The murderers had arrived at
Rome but they were not seen in public, the Pope being perturbed on
learning what an impression was made on 'a leading personage by
their presence, orders were consequently given that they were not to
remain in Rome another hour. Contarini did not spare rewards, he
bestowed eight golden crowns on the aforementioned informer Flavio,
1 MSS. Contarini.
2 MSS. Contarini.
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? 160 THE LIFE OF' [A. D. 1607. _
who gave it as his opinion that the man who wounded Fra Paolo
iii the face, was one of the most villainous and murderous beings in
the world, adding "from what I have heard he is to commit another
fine assassination besides this, he is considered a good brave by certain
outlaws from the march of Ancona. This man was to get a copy of
his absolution, and a copy of the bank bill on the monies paid. " ' The
assassins were urged to discover who sent this villain; secresy was
promised and Contarini thinks it certain these are the men. Flavio
had spoken to the Pope, and as to who sent them. "I entertain no
doubt on that score," writes the Ambassador; and Flavio was again
appointed to come to his Secretary's apartments at a late hour. He
had also obtained information " from a postillion who stated his name to
be Giovanni Andrea, of Fano, sent with this post's letters, as postil-
lion, by the courier to Venice, but had stayed behind on account of
illness; he said that the courier had told him that last Sunday evening
five persons supped and slept at the same inn, a priest namely
Michael Viti, and three men, two of these dressed as mariners. Of
these three, one was Ridolfo Poma, head assassin, the two boatmen,
named Matteo the Sclavonian, and Pietro of San Giustina, and a lad,
Poma's son, who according to his judgment as well as that of the
host are those who fled on account of the wounds given in Venice to
Fra Paolo, and that they arrived in the evening and left in the morning
in a carriage for Loretto. "
A letter to the Council of Ten from his Excellency informs us of
the rewards given to the assassins, and later, a discussion 'had taken
place as to the Theologians of Venice, " but the transactions of the
Inquisition were kept so secret, that all which transpired was, that
there was to be some delay. "' Parasio had been seen in Rome, and
it was said that Poma meant "to print that he made his determina-
tion not at the instigation of others, but for the service of the
Lord God. "
To the Council of Ten.
"Most Serene Prince,
" A nephew of M. Bastone, the Papal Nuncio, has informed a person
here, his confident, that by order of His Holiness the Nuncio, his
uncle has been commissioned to obtain from the 'Viceroy, the grant
1 MSS. Contarini, October 1607 . -
5* MSS. Contarini, Nov. 24. Dec. 10-15.
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? arr. 55. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 161
of an annual pension to the scoundrels who committed the act of as-
sassination on the person of the Father Paul, and the ' assignment of
1,500 crowns was to 'be made forthwith at Bari, and although I gave
an account to the Most Excellent Senate, I nevertheless deemed it
well to omit from what quarter such news reached me, though I
consider it my duty on every account to give respectful-notice thereof
to your Serenity, and in like manner as I certify to the nephew of
the Nuncio, having made the communication aforesaid, so in other
respects I am at a loss at this moment for the means of ascertaining
the entire truth of these commissions; but present them to your Excel-
lencies as I receive them, as I moreover shall give you notice, that
the news of the arrival of the said scoundrels at Bitonto, whereof I
also informed the Most Excellent Senate, is contained in a letter to
the Cardinal Genlniasio, written to him by the very Reverend the
Bishop of Bitonto, in the following precise words, 'that through the
arrival there of the man who gave the wounds to that Friar Paul of
Venice, he has discovered the individual who assassinated a brother
of his, and that he will endeavour to make him pay his weekly ac-
count. ' Gratiee etc.
"From Ronie, 24th November 1607. "
The President at Naples informed the Ambassador that one of the
murderers, Pasquale of Bitonto, is in that city, and Poma is expected
there shortly to carry on a certain law suit. Poma, by a letter of his,
is in great fear for himself; he changes his place of residence frequently,
and is now at Hostia. He is said to be sent as a warder to Perugia,
which the Ambassador thinks "cannot be true, as that appointment is
generally given to people of consideration. "
While Fra Paolo was thus cared for in Venice, Contarini's and other
letters show that he was held in still greater esteem since he had been
so nearly lost to Venice and to Europe. Many judged that his arguments
against papal supremacy must be powerful when they had excited such
indignation at the Court of Rome.
But Fra Paolo felt no satisfaction when it was reported that Poma
and his accomplices had been imprisoned at Rome; it transpired, how-
ever later ' that Parasio only had been placed in close custody in the
prisons of the Inquisition, on account of his violent language against
the Court in regard to the non--fulfilment of the promises which had
been made to him and to his accomplices. Throughout Contarini's
1 Rome, 19th July 1608.
H
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? 162 THE LIFE OF ' [AD. 160? .
letters the same desire to discover these assassins continues and the
whole of the despatches are of great interest.
Letters of the Ambassador Contarini.
" To the Council of Ten,
" Most Serene Prince,
" To what I wrote last post I respectfully add by one, who knows
him very well.
" Poma was seen here in Rome one Sunday at the Trinit'a di Monte,
an out of the way place, and of small resort, together with a lad,
supposed to be his son, with an old man, and another with red hair,
his servant. I know that this servant goes every week with a billet
to the register of the Venice post to receive letters which, with a
feigned direction, are addressed to the said Poma. For many days I
'have been pondering on the mode of having these letters Withheld;
but I do not find it safe, for this register, named Simon Bigozzi, is a
Florentine; nor do I rely on trusting this foreigner, appointed I know
not how to this charge, the which, as all the couriers are our subjects,
ought likewise to be held by one, for he sees, handles, receives, distri-
butes, and notes all the letters; and in many instances it would prove
very convenient, the having there a confidential person. I have confid-
ed the detail about those letters of Poma to Pietro Basis, an old
courier, and who is the vice--master of the couriers in 'their house
here; charging him on his life's peril, in the name of your most
excellent Council, to keep it secret, desiring him to act with caution,
so as to obtain and bring them to me; but he has not been able to
do this, wherefore I give respectful notice thereof to your Excellen- -
cies, so that such resolve shall be taken as may be deemed best, and
in order that your Lordship may know that I fail not to do as much
as I am permitted, by the manner wherewith we must act under
existing circumstances. It was a great light to me the information I
received from your Excellencies, about the two dismissed Franciscan
friars, when His Holiness spoke to me on the subject. As I write to
the most excellent Senate, it was of great use, as enabling me to speak
resolutely, which causeth the Pontiff not to push the matter further,
or make any other reply. Gratiae, etc. "
Again: "The imprisonment of Alessandro Parasio is confirmed, in
whose name, and in whose favour, as it has been told me, M. Napi
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? Ar. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI. 163
likewise a native of Ancona, spoke a few days since to the Cardinal
Borghese about some acknowledgment for the services rendered, but
not having obtained too favourable an answer, and reporting this to
Alessandro Parasio, it/made him fly into the greatest wrath; and he
protested that he would go into Turkey, using other similar language,
as usual with a man dissatisfied and desperate as it were. Monsieur Napi,
though the friend and confidant of the said Parasio, and who moreover
sought him every advantage, on hearing this, had more regard for his
own than for his neighbour's interest, and so went and told the whole
in detail to the Cardinal Borghese, who immediately betook himself to
the Pontiff, where the business being discussed, it was determined that
this Monsignore should be the medium for his getting into the hands
of the Sbirri, as took place; and Monsignore Fonti, the Cardinal Bor-
ghese's auditor, served to point him to the Barigello, who arrested him
on Sunday the 8th, immediately on his coming out of S. Sylvester's
Church, at Monte Cavallo, and having instantly put him into a car-
riage, hehlrasltaken to 'Borgo' to the prisons of the Inquisition. I
understand that it is being endeavoured to obtain certain writings which
he denies hdving kept. I
"By great diligence," the Contarini, "had become acquainted with
the feigned names under which the letters were addressed from Venice
to Rodolfa Poma. Of two of them he says. 'The which, having first
copied and rescaled, I caused to be returned to their address, in order
not to create suspicion,' They Were letters from Poma's cloistered
daughters, signed Hipolita Poma, from Padua, January 14th, 1608;
there were also two other letters, which were forwarded to the Council.
The letters Were addressed to Carlo Gattardo, Silvestro Ridolfi, Frede-
rico Bolucci, Paulo de Santi, Paulo Bortolaeci, and the above copies
were sent to the Doge by Contarini. Y'
" Most Serene Prince,
v
" Herewith your Serenity will receive the substance of what Matteo . .
JWJ 1:
Schiavon, one of the boatmen who rowed Poma, stated to my secretary
' on two occasions, when he went to seek him in his apartments, and
likewise what Tomeo di Zanon, the owner of the shallop, told a person,
my confidant, for I did not allow him to come, as he wanted to do,
and speak here in the palace, ' both on account of the different nature
of his sentence, and because little else could have been elicited from
'. e. N'? 3- '
'' pp
la'? !
1 To the Council of Ten, 2nd February, 1608, from Rome.
5 The Venetian ambassador's palace, called S. Mark's, Rome.
u&\
13. 1
M'; .
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? 164 _ THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608.
him, in addition to what has been obtained from other sources. From
these two expositions, should they contain nothing else of importance,
your. Serenity will at least learn concerning Poma, how he keeps hid-
den, and his situation- (as I moreover have written heretofore), how
much he endeavours to remove these men to a distance, and the
confirmation of what I have previously hinted at, that Alessandro de
Franceschi is his agent, and has held intercourse with him since last
June or July, when the said Rodolfo Poma was at Rome, and when
he left a servant of his in his house, who, immediately after the deed,
went to meet him with a supply of money at Ancona.
_ " It seems he has some intention of returning home; should I become
11' Z17 aware of his reaching it, I will give account thereof to your Excel-
-/~~ lencies, of the mode whereby the said Matteo took to come and speak
with the Secretary, who was very cautious; so that he has not even
a -thought of its having been wished for. Then with regard to the
, statement of that other, namely of Tomeo, the whole is rendered intel-
ligible by the statement itself. " 'QQG
Here follows the statement of Matteo Schiavon. Ibid,-oamthe 24th
February, at Rome, in St. Mark's Palace. A
"Matteo Schiavon, boatman, one of those who rowed Poma, having
come by stealth to my apartments, I, Vittor Barbaro, Secretary of
the Ambassador Contarini, at the second hour of the night, told him
I was glad to see him well, but was sorry for his troubles, and to
give him confidence to speak freely, I added that I considered it
certain he had been deceived, and that one might moreover argue
thus from the nature of his sentence, and the clemency of the
alternative.
"Jwhereupon, bewailing his fate, and the misery of his wife and
W0? four children in Venice, and to his having been in fact
deceived and betrayed, he commenced speaking to me confidentially,
and told me in substance:
"The Signor Bidolfo Hma disappeared from Venice last July, in
I A"; consequence of failure -on the mart. One day unexpectedly he stood
Lb 'before me and said, 'Villain, what art thou doing? ' I answered,
"*7 Z '-God be praised, for -that certain foolfli people, who speaking about#&
' you, said you had failed, lied by the throat. ' He asked me whether
J I could -go with him to Padua. I answered 'Yes;' and we went there
4 "H with the gondola. He went about to one monastery and the other,
LL and came lg-ac_k to Venice; and returned in a Paduan boat which towed
the gondola, whither he took four girls of his into convents; and his
Sister di Gollardi and two maid servants accompanied them. In
returning, we took up the Chaplain of the Nuns of Santa Giustina at
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? arr 56. ] FRA PAOLO SABPI 165
la Mira, and came on merrily to "Venice. It strikes me that the
Chaplain subsequently saved some of his property. He asked me whe-
ther I would go to Loretto with him, and that he would moreover go'
as far as Bitonto, I said 'yes,' but that I must have a little money
at home/'He said he had not got any, so I, who served a grocer with
my gondola, in order to pay it off, for it had been made at his cost,
took eighteen ducats from another gondolier, and made it over to him
for him to pay for. This money I left at home; and having taken
these clothes which are now on my back, I went to Poma; and at the
water entrance of his house,\Ma embarked in a gondola by day three
or four little coffers, which I for my part thought was money he was
carrying away, and was that for---w-ls-i-oh he had failed. Being thus two
oars, namely myself and Paulo de Santa Giustina, he said to us, "I
don't choose to be seen getting into the gondola here at the entrance;
so while I go and look after the shallop on the Bio of S. Anna, do'
you go and wait for me at the FondamentLNuovQ_and don't go away,
for I shall soon be there. ' 1 We waited as ordered; Lbecame thirsty,
and would not go so far as my home, but sent to buy a little ,,y? ne;"
then came Fra Michel Viti, and inquired for Poma, saying, '
come yet? ' We told him 'no,' and he got into the gondola to Wait
E
'. A'
juncle "
5
' . - . h ' ''
for him. " I have asked him whether Poma was really
uncle; and he told me that he called him so, and that he knew nothing
J
further; and he continued: " Subsequently Poma came, with his usual A S
cloak wrapped up to his eyes, and said, 'Are you here my lads? '
"He got into the gondola desiring us to go towards the castle, and
said, 'I also will row a little,' and having laid down his cloak and'
a blunderbuss which he Had himself fitted on the crutch, the second
astern, began rowing. We were at a very little distance from the
Fonda/r\nentQ_ and two men came up who also called out, 'Sir, take
us also. ' Poma made us return to the quay, and we brought them
off without any tumult of people, or any one. He made us'go to the
cottage beyond the Certosa, apparently the edge of the lagoons at the
back of the Castle of S. Andrea' in fact on a strip of the Lido, across
which the murderers then made their way to the beach, - where the
shallop was waiting for them) and they disembarked, and there 'on
shore they came towards us, the Signor Alessandro Parasio 'with the'
J\'-fins-1
1 The date of the conversation here detailed was October 5th, 1607. "On the'
evening of which day, about an hour before sunset, Poma and-his accomplices' '
attacked Fra Paolo Sarpi at the bridge of S. Fosca, close to the Monastery of r
the Servites. The Bio of S. Anna, which Poma mentions as a stand for shal-
lops, 1607, continued such till very lately, and runs parallel to the public}
gardens towards the land entry. ' '
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? 166 THE LIFE OF' [A. n. 1608.
crew of the shallop which was on the beach, and he had the effects
taken out of the gondola and carried overland to the shallop; and to
M am, who chanced to be there, he gave a piece of forty soldi to take
the gondola to my house, but it was not mine. Having thps got on
board the shallop at sea, during the night we had almost a constant
calm, save on the fifth hour a little sirocco and swell, which soon
TL subsided, and at the first hour we made Goro, where Poma and Pa-
i-asio having disembarked. desired us to go and wait for them at Ra-
venns, and he took horses and went away with the said Parasio, I
believe to Padua, for they afterwards returned to Ravenna, bringing
the lad, the said Poma's son, who was certainly at Padua, and another
iad, his nephew, named Carlo Gottardo, his sister's son, who was like-
wise at Padua. On the same day after they had ridden off, whilst
steering our course to Ravenna, all went to sleep, except a boy who
was at the helm, the sail being hoisted in a calm; and hard by were
the boats of the Lord Chiefs of the Ten the which, had they boarded
. us, we should all have been taken napping. At Ravenna, Father
Michael artfully;;as I stated, after Poma was at the FondamentQ Nuc-
W V Pasqual di Bitonto, and Zuane di Fiorenza should all three
,2 V sleep on shore, I believe because he expected us to learn there some
A news of the assassination they had committed at Venice,_ and he was
%' afraid, and thus did it turn out; for an estafette wh'icli"'i-cached that
city divulged the fact, so I began lamenting and complaining to the
4" priest that I had been sacrificed, and he swore as a priest, and vowed
'? ? "'? ||, by the consecration of his person, that it was not true. However, one
2; M night he went o5, together with the others with the shallop without
$ saying a word to us, and left us there on shore, and hearing that he
~r
was gone to Ravenna we likewise proceeded thither with fresh la-
-- mentations and complaints, for we heard say besides that we 'should
-4' all be quartered and quite lost. I had thrown myself down on the
M4 ground there, under a portico, crying and hollowing with all my might,
1. one Vincencetto of the castle, a Venetian, who came up by chance
We put us up to carrying 05 the priest to Venice with the shallop,
_-I-0
saying that we should be set at liberty, and get four thousand ducats
reward, and he had so well persuaded us" that believing we should do
' thus he Went to Venice to say we were going there; but the priest
| secured himself by taking the effects ashore to the governor of the
city, and observed great caution, and subsequently Poma arrived with
Parasio, and the two lads aforesaid in a carriage, and having paid the
crew of the shallop twenty six livres each, left them there, whereat
they complained and stormed dreadfully, and he merely took me and
Paulo with the carriage to Ancona, where the whole being discovered,
V
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? El'. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 167
Poma said to me, 'Never fear, for as is my lot so shall be thine, if
thou art outlawed, I'll buy thee a commutation. ' One day in Ancona,
whilst walking about, I met one Roberto Fiamengo, a red--haired man,
'Poma's servant, who was coming along on horseback, he is my chum,
or gossip, and when he saw me he complained, saying to me, ' Thou'rt
here, gossip, thee too, they ruin thee tool' and he told me that Poma
had left him last summer here in Rome, in the house of one Ales-
sandro F1-anceschi, a Venetian, and that the said Franceschi had given
him the horse and money for him to come immediately to Venice by
Ancona to his master Poma, to convey to him a letter which this
Alessandro Franceschi had given him to receive a thousand ducats
here in Ancona, given him by the Pope, and so through this letter the
said Poma had the money which was paid him by Girolamo Scalin-
monti, the Pope's agent in Ancona, and he is moreover having the
walls of that city repaired, and he gave it him in high time, for he
had not a farthing. We then went to Loretto, and whilst I was in the
Church of our Lady, taking the communion they planted me, and all
went away without saying anything to me.
" So remaining as if lost I returned to Ancona, and first gained my live-
lihood by fishing for oysters, and then coasting along that shore as far as
the Albruzzo in a Chioggian vessel, in like manner as the other boatmen
maintained themselves. I heard that Poma was at Rome; I wrote to him
to ask for what belonged to me, for he had engaged me at the rate of forty
soldi per diem, and my board/' he sent me two letters in reply, and said
he would send me money, but I have never seen anything. There are the
letters, and he shewed me two, one dated 12th' December from the Cam-
pagna of Rome, the other from Paliano, dated the 2&1: of January, where-
by he exhorts him in kind terms to go and present himself at Venice,
that he not forget him, and this is the substance of the said letters,
telling him not to come to Rome by any means as it would be bad for all.
He in like manner showed me a letter sent him by his wife, with the copy
of his sentence, which is the same one had here at the palace, and that was
opened and read, but he suspects Poma of having forged it in order to
make him so much the more easily determine to-go-to-Venice. He then
added, latterly at Ruanati, I heard thaton the 13th of January, Alessan-
dro Parasio had been put in prison here in Rome (8th January, Despatch
106), and that Poma was made warder of Perugia, so seeing that he had
said he would send me money, but never remitted any to me, I resolved
on coming here, together with Tomeo di Zanon, the master of the shal-
lop. We arrived here on Ash Wednesday, and went hunting for Poma,
Parasio, Poma's servant, or some one of them; nor have we been able to
find them. But we have heard that one Zan Antonio Gottardo, the ne-'
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? 168 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608-
pliew, and Zan Battista, the son of Poma, are come to Bitonto, but we
cannot get a sight of any of them, we believe they hide themselves, and
the other day there came a young man Well dressed as a priest, who told '
us that if we were looking for Poma that he was gone to Naples to collect
certain monies of his, but that he would cause us to receive some aims to
furnish me with the means of going to Venice, as I have the advantage of
being able to present myself, and to the master of the shallop, who lacks
this privilege, that he may go to Bitonto, where the means of support will
not fail him, and he warned us not to show ourselves here to the ambas-
sador, who would give us a good dressing. We asked him his name; he
said it was Fulvio Spe% and that he lived with the Cardinal Bevi-
lacqua, but he does not reside there, this name is not known. I keep think-
i 1g he may be that Alessandro de Franceschi; he is a tidy, dark youth. I
think 'tis so, but I don't know him. We have met him twice or thrice in
the street, and he wanted us to go on Friday to the palace at S. Peter's,
and I know not for what purpose he did not choose to go. The arrange-
ment was for us to be there after dinner, but we did not go. We mean for
a certainty to discover this Poma, and be paid. Were I to go to Venice, I
imagine that my poor wife will have sold and pawned all I have in the
world to support the children, and I should but go to die with them of
want. I keep thinking of going in preference to Leghorn, and of serving
on board the Grand Duke's vessels. " This is what he said to me, and as
he is a man in his prime, and of very fine. stature, I dissuaded him to the
utmost from the thought of going to Leghorn, exhorting him not to lose
the opportunity of presenting himself at Venice, where he will at all
events he at home, and should he allow this opportunity to escape he
might possibly sigh for it in vain all the rest of his life, without being
able again to see his children and his home; and _with the tears in his
eyes he concluded by saying that he would try whether he could rescue
anything out of the hands of those men, and having arranged to come to
me to report what befell him, he departed. "
" On the 26th of February, the aforesaid having returned at the usual
hour to me, my secretary added to me in substance that Poma's servant,
nanied Roberto, was in the palace of the Cardinal Colonna. He yesterday
kept walking in its neighbourhood such a length of time that he met
him, and after the said Roberto had complained of being himself likewise
ruined, saying that Poma and the others had fled hence, and that Ales-
sandro Parasio had been imprisoned for his talk, and that he did not know
what had become of him, he informed him as a secret, that Andrea Enici,
a Genoese, late agent for Poma in Venice, was reading there in the palace,
and that he ought to go and speak to him; and whilst talking with the
servant, on raising his eyes, he saw at a window of the palace of the said
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? arr. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 169
Cardinal Colonna, Gio. Battista ,Poma, Ridolfo's son, whom he knows'
very well, and having quitted the servant and gone upstairs to the rooms
pointed out to him as those of the said Enici, he found there Paulo of
St. Giustina the boatman, and spoke with Andrea Enici, who likewise
stating that Poma Was not there, answered him in reply to his demands
for payment, that he does not know what to do. He afterwards met in
the street near there the priest called Fulvio Splronati, who apologised for
not having shown himself on account of the rain that has fallen these
past two -days, and made an appoin_tment for him to meet him in the
evening when he would place him for four or six days, until some other
arrangement could be made, in a room where he would be boarded by a
certain woman, and that thus would he do out of charity, and for love of
the Signor Gio. Battista, for that he does not know the Signor Ridolfo.
He went that evening as 'ordered, but the priest never came, so having
returned to-day to speak to Enici he desired him to come again to-morrow
at dinner-time, and that he will give him the means for betaking himself
to Venice; and he says he considers it certain that that priest who spoke
to him does not bear the name of Fulvio, for when he mentioned him to
Enici he did not understand him, but subsequently appeared to compre'
hend)\which Matteo having recounted to me the details aforesaid, departed,
saying that he will go tomorrow as ordered and will come and tell me
the whole, adding in the act of departure that he had forgot to tell me
that one Lodovico who rowed in the shallop, and was outlawed at Ancona,
immediately on reaching that city, notwithstanding his outlawry, walked
about, and freely frequented every place. " Nothing need be added to this
prolix testimony uriless it be that of Thomas de Zanon ' who was seen
walking and talking openly in the ga. l. l. e. r:y of the Vatican with* Vene-
ze?
/,-'
6,5. . . "
tian priest ,F-ranoeeebi. Zanon alledged that he had come from Leghorn in *
a Florentine vessel; but he betrayed himself by complaining that he was
still unrewarded, and at last confessed that he " was the master of the
shallop in which Poma had escaped from Venice. " He affirmed that Mat-
teo, the gondolier, knew all, and when Poma got into the gondola at the
FondamentQ,NuovQwhen driven by the populace, and Matteo asked him
whether he had done the business? Poma urged him to row, saying' Woe
to us, we shall all be quartered, ' and Matteo answered ' Never fear, sir, as
long as you see me. ' Zanon Was left with the shallop; and Matteo, on whom
Zanon cast unmeasured blame, came to Rome to see what he could get. "
It is apparent from this long but important document, that description of
spies and remarks on the Pope's unwearied complaint of the theologians
filled a considerable portion of the ambassador's letters, and it is only
1 All from the MSS. Contarini, 28th February 1608.
\/'? 7M. e.
A-.
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? l70 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608.
,. >>
wonderful that he was able to steer his course through such a labyrinth of
difficulty.
While his defender was thus engaged at Rome, Fra Paolo pursued the
even tenor of his way, strong in the conviction that although his life was
hourly in danger, and there were other machinations against him, unless
by the will of God not a hair of his head would be injured. He held the opi-
nion of Saint Augustine as to God being the Disposer and Controller of all
events, and although he khew that not many paces from the Convent door,
lay men ready to seize him he lived in peace, and in patience possessed his
soul. He still suffered much pain in his face consequent upon his wound,
and he felt his eyesight so much affected, that he could scarcely look
stedfastly on any object. He was obliged to wear spectacles while reading,
but happily he could avail himself of his knowledge asan optician in his
need, and he does not appear to have relaxed at all in his studies. But af-
fairs of greater moment than his bodily ailments now began to engross
his attention, and the Spanish fleet which was armed with 20,000 men,
could not cruise in the Mediterranean without exciting public uneasiness.
This, however, Sarpi tried to allay, believing the armament was merely a
demonstration of strength: he was more occupied by severe disappointments
since the raising of the Interdict, one of which was, that Casanbon had not
been rewarded for his services to the Republic. Much as the Senators had
done for the security of Fra Paolo, they did more, they provided him with
means to pay a person always to accompany him, and not only increased
his salary, but decided that the public should pay for a house in Saint
Mark's where he could live in safety. But the Father was determined not
to change his abode, and entreated to be allowed to reside in the Convent
with thefriars with whom he had lived so long, declaring that he should
never be bble to live in any other manner, that being. his vocation, in this
he was gratified, except that the Senate erected somesmall buildings
adjoining his chamber, from which by a little corridor and staircase he
would enter a boat, so that when he had occasion to return to the Convent
by night he might not be exposed to treachery. He was thus necessarily
obliged to make some change as to his expenses, although he did not spend
more than was absolutely needful, -in no way abating the rigor of his po-
verty as a friar, content with his simple food and clothing. But after
the attempt on his life' he was obliged not to walk from the Servi, because
it being necessary for him to pass through alleys which afforded an op-
portunity to any one who wished to assassinate him. During the sixteen
following years he went in his gondola from his Convent to the Rialto, land-
ed there, and then through the Merceria to S. Mark's, merely for daily
exercise that he might not lose the habit of walking altogether, and he found
it necessary to have two companions, one as his servant, the other as his
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? Arr. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SABPI 171
amanuensis, Fra Marco to whom he gave twelve hundred ducats, and fifty
ducats per annum, and to Fra Marino three hundred which he placed in
the bank for him at ten per cent, that he might not only have a living, but
also forty ducats per annum, and he increased his gifts of bread and wine
to the convent, and also to the cooks, to one of whom he gave sixty ducats
per annum. These gifts were made from prudential causes in self defence,
they conciliated many, as well as made them interested in the preservation
of his life, but with these expenses he could no longer persist in his deter-
mination not to receive the stipend assigned to him by the public munifi-
cence. He was obliged to make a great change in his reception of strangers.
He never conversed with any one but in his own chamber in the convent
or in the church, in the choir, when coming to service or to the refectory
to meals. His life was that of a hermit, he was solitary so far as his pub-
lic duties permitted; his world was his poor cell, and the little path be-
tween the Rialto and S.
there were Alessandro Parasio of Ancona, Giovanni of Florence, the son of
Paolo, and Pasquale de Bitonto, also a soldier. They were men well fitted
for such deeds, as they were all outlaws. Their spy, or guide, was a
priest, Michel Vlti, a Bergamasco, who officiated in the church of the
Holy Trinity, in Venice; and by whom there is no doubt that this
deed had been planned for many months before it came to light,
because this priest came every morning during Lent to the Convent of
the Servi, under pretence of liking the preaching of Fra Fulgenzio.
He came to the door of the pulpit, which corresponds to the inner
part of the Convent, and conversed courteously with Fra Fulgenzio,
and sought counsel as to some scruples of conscience, and he con-
tinued to go to his Convent to visit him and to converse on spiritual
matters.
Before the successful issue of this execrable act, Fra Fulgenzio had
observed, and that innumerable times, as he came home with the
Father and his companion, that he encountered Fra Michel Viti on
the bridge of S. Fosca, sometimes here and sometimes there, now with
one soldier, then with two, who proved afterwards to be the murderers
above mentioned.
And because Fra Fulgenzio saw him frequently look intently at
the Father, and often return to look back at him, Fra Fulgenzio
warned him, but the Father repressed his curiosity as showing too
much suspicion. '
On the tenth of October sentence against the assassins was decreed
by the Council of Ten in the form of a proclamation, promising large
rewards to those who took them alive. '
This was followed by a public edict for the better security of Fra
Paolo who still continued in great bodily suffering.
"Proclamation'hy the Republic of Venice to secure the personal
safety of R. M. Paulo, Servite and Professor of Theology, according
to the resolution of the Senate, 27th day of October, 1607. "
The above Proclamation by the Prince, was laid before the Senate
for deliberation, on the 27th October, 1607.
Appendix.
2
1
S.
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? E1'. 55. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 157
"In reference to the atrocious attempt at assassination, with design
to take the life of R. P. M. Paolo, of our Republic, by well-known
wicked and insidious means, and according to the usual gracious
protection which we are accustomed to grant to those of our subjects,
who with self devotion and fidelity render good and honourable service
to the Republic, as the worthy P. Paulo, a person of distinguished
learning, great courage and virtue, and of exemplary life has done, we
desire, in addition to the public deliberations already made, to make
known, and by still further proof to testify how dear his personal
safety is to our Republic. Therefore We cause it to be publicly proclaim-
ed, that if in future, any person or persons shall be found, of any
degree or condition whatsoever, who shall be so bold, as for the future
to attempt to attack in any place or manner whatsoever, without
exception, either in this city or any other place of our State, the afore-
said P. M. Paulo, he, or they, who in defence of this Father takes or
kills any such person or persons who attack him, shall claim, if he
consign them dead (they being legally proved amenable 'to justice), the
sum of two thousand ducats, taken from the property of the delinquent
or delinquents, if they have any (which property shall be accounted
as if confiscated) and if they have not any, from the monies of the
public treasury to be paid immediately. And on consigning them
alive, they shall receive four thousand ducats as aforesaid, from the
said monies of the public treasury,' to be paid immediately. And if
any one shall make known to justice, any person or persons, who shall
treat of, plan, or come to this city with intent to injure the said P.
M. Paolo in any way whatever, if any culprit be taken, tried, and
punished, the informer shall receive in the aforesaid manner the same
sum of two thousand ducats from the treasury, and if he be an ac-
complice, he shall go unpunished, and secresy shall be observed. It
being our resolve and will, that the meritorious P. M. Paolo, as well
as any other subject, who has faithfully and effectually served and
serves the Republic, shall be respected, and entitled by his own merit
to public protection. 29th October, 1607. Published on the stairs of
S. Marco, and of the Rialto, by Paschel di Bianchi, Comandator. "
The words, "any person or persons of any degree or condition
whatsoever, who shall be so bold as to attempt," etc. , etc. , the life
of P. M. Paolo, did not escape observation, and it was evident that
the Doge and Senate of Venice, intended the above proclamation to
include all.
Now let the reader turn for a little time to the Ducal palace, and
mark the countenances of the friends of Sarpi, 'the aged Donato, the
eloquent Morosini, and those of the Council of Ten and their Secretaries
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? 168 THE LIFE OF / [A. D. 1607.
who saw the secret communications from the Contarini, no doubt but
that words of surprise or angry exclamation burst from their lips when
they read their Ambassador's letter of this date. Miserable as was the
employment, Contarini did not shrink from his duty, but recorded his
endeavors in various and numerous despatches to the Doge and Senate
and Council of Ten which testify a sincere love of his country and
justice to the man whose only crime was, that he had striven for his
country's weal.
" Most Serene Prince,
" For the due execution of what your Serenity enjoins me, by letters
dated the 6th inst. , received on the day before yesterday, and moreover
for the vent of my own personal sympathy and affection, which has been
greatly agitated by so momentous an accident as has been that which has
befallen the person of M. Paul, I shall be most vigilant for the investiga-
tion of everything that shall seem to me fitting, through all channels,
especially through that one which made the first statement to me, as . I
respectfully notified in my letters of the 29th ult. , who, moreover, told me
this week that one of the brothers-in-law of the aforesaid ancient, who
left this with him, is Grandonio. I have likewise heard from a confident
of mine, a resident in Ancona, that Alessandro Parassio, one of the pro-
claimed assassins, was outlawed at Ancona about two years ago, for hav-
ing harboured some homicides in his house; and, on some little property
of his being confiscated, it was saved by his sisters, resident at Venice in
the house of certain merchants, named Gottardi, his relations; and he was
a bravo by profession, having fought several times, as well in Ancona as
at Venice. Poma, likewise one of the proclaimed, was seen in this city
about the month of June last; and, from what I have hitherto been able
to elicit, it seems that he then left for Naples, his departure being attri-
buted to his finding himself half a bankrupt. Gratize cfic.
" Rome, 13 Oct. , 1607. "
The next letter opens with the very warm expression of his feelings,
" on hearing of the villany committed on the person of the M. Paulo of
the Servites, " and the ambassador" trusts in God that he may be able to
penetrate'it. " The Pope had again blamed the theologians; but, such was
the fear of the ambassador for the Pope, that he adds, " I have deemed it
expedient to pass the whole over in silence, waiting for a better opportu-
nity. The Inquisitor deplored F. P. 's accident. I sent the Secretary to
him, who said he bore him no ill will; and said that he had asked him,
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? 151. 54. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 169
through the Procurator General of the Servites, to come to Rome a month
ago, and that he would be caressed and well received, and the affair ter-
minate reputably for the Republic.
" He suspects, not indeed by senators and intelligent noblemen, but
by the people, that it may be supposed to proceed hence, a sup-
position which could not enter the minds of judicious persons as there
is no similar example on record, either by word or deed, in any
century, for that the Church does not proceed by these indirect and
diabolical means; he, the Inquisitor, Was, therefore, annoyed by the
vulgar, who are blindly carried away by every sinister idea. But he
considered it as certain that, as the crime had been committed by
three, some, if not all, would be taken; and that the truth of the
fact, moreover, would not be known through other channels; and he
observed, as Maestro Paulo was not known to have any enemies, it
may be conjectured that this may have been plotted by some of his
friars, on account of some disgust and monkish persecution, and that
his opinion was shared by the Cardinal Zappata, with whom he had
held a long conversation. "
The Ambassador, Contarini, also enclosed, for the perusal of the
Council of Ten, part of a letter from Bimini, in which the assassins
are spoken of as "those three who gave it to the theologians, and
were here on Friday evening, flying from death, God help them! " '
and further, Contarini enclosed in one of his dispatches a deposition
of Flavio's which speaks for itself. ' " The men who wounded Fra
Paolo passed before me in two carriages with long and short arque-
buses, boasting of having killed Fra Paolo, and they had a passport
from the Legate of Bologna that they might carry their weapons
through the Papal States. They had their arquebuses and pistols ready
loaded, even at table. Poma was recognized, as also his son dressed as
a Priest, and one Parasio of Ancona (all Pomas) who acted as his
oil broker at Venice. The hosts said if they had known of the sentence
they would have killed them. " Lengthened investigations were continued
by the Ambassador and his Secretary during the darkness of night,
and all these were carefully reported. The murderers had arrived at
Rome but they were not seen in public, the Pope being perturbed on
learning what an impression was made on 'a leading personage by
their presence, orders were consequently given that they were not to
remain in Rome another hour. Contarini did not spare rewards, he
bestowed eight golden crowns on the aforementioned informer Flavio,
1 MSS. Contarini.
2 MSS. Contarini.
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? 160 THE LIFE OF' [A. D. 1607. _
who gave it as his opinion that the man who wounded Fra Paolo
iii the face, was one of the most villainous and murderous beings in
the world, adding "from what I have heard he is to commit another
fine assassination besides this, he is considered a good brave by certain
outlaws from the march of Ancona. This man was to get a copy of
his absolution, and a copy of the bank bill on the monies paid. " ' The
assassins were urged to discover who sent this villain; secresy was
promised and Contarini thinks it certain these are the men. Flavio
had spoken to the Pope, and as to who sent them. "I entertain no
doubt on that score," writes the Ambassador; and Flavio was again
appointed to come to his Secretary's apartments at a late hour. He
had also obtained information " from a postillion who stated his name to
be Giovanni Andrea, of Fano, sent with this post's letters, as postil-
lion, by the courier to Venice, but had stayed behind on account of
illness; he said that the courier had told him that last Sunday evening
five persons supped and slept at the same inn, a priest namely
Michael Viti, and three men, two of these dressed as mariners. Of
these three, one was Ridolfo Poma, head assassin, the two boatmen,
named Matteo the Sclavonian, and Pietro of San Giustina, and a lad,
Poma's son, who according to his judgment as well as that of the
host are those who fled on account of the wounds given in Venice to
Fra Paolo, and that they arrived in the evening and left in the morning
in a carriage for Loretto. "
A letter to the Council of Ten from his Excellency informs us of
the rewards given to the assassins, and later, a discussion 'had taken
place as to the Theologians of Venice, " but the transactions of the
Inquisition were kept so secret, that all which transpired was, that
there was to be some delay. "' Parasio had been seen in Rome, and
it was said that Poma meant "to print that he made his determina-
tion not at the instigation of others, but for the service of the
Lord God. "
To the Council of Ten.
"Most Serene Prince,
" A nephew of M. Bastone, the Papal Nuncio, has informed a person
here, his confident, that by order of His Holiness the Nuncio, his
uncle has been commissioned to obtain from the 'Viceroy, the grant
1 MSS. Contarini, October 1607 . -
5* MSS. Contarini, Nov. 24. Dec. 10-15.
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? arr. 55. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 161
of an annual pension to the scoundrels who committed the act of as-
sassination on the person of the Father Paul, and the ' assignment of
1,500 crowns was to 'be made forthwith at Bari, and although I gave
an account to the Most Excellent Senate, I nevertheless deemed it
well to omit from what quarter such news reached me, though I
consider it my duty on every account to give respectful-notice thereof
to your Serenity, and in like manner as I certify to the nephew of
the Nuncio, having made the communication aforesaid, so in other
respects I am at a loss at this moment for the means of ascertaining
the entire truth of these commissions; but present them to your Excel-
lencies as I receive them, as I moreover shall give you notice, that
the news of the arrival of the said scoundrels at Bitonto, whereof I
also informed the Most Excellent Senate, is contained in a letter to
the Cardinal Genlniasio, written to him by the very Reverend the
Bishop of Bitonto, in the following precise words, 'that through the
arrival there of the man who gave the wounds to that Friar Paul of
Venice, he has discovered the individual who assassinated a brother
of his, and that he will endeavour to make him pay his weekly ac-
count. ' Gratiee etc.
"From Ronie, 24th November 1607. "
The President at Naples informed the Ambassador that one of the
murderers, Pasquale of Bitonto, is in that city, and Poma is expected
there shortly to carry on a certain law suit. Poma, by a letter of his,
is in great fear for himself; he changes his place of residence frequently,
and is now at Hostia. He is said to be sent as a warder to Perugia,
which the Ambassador thinks "cannot be true, as that appointment is
generally given to people of consideration. "
While Fra Paolo was thus cared for in Venice, Contarini's and other
letters show that he was held in still greater esteem since he had been
so nearly lost to Venice and to Europe. Many judged that his arguments
against papal supremacy must be powerful when they had excited such
indignation at the Court of Rome.
But Fra Paolo felt no satisfaction when it was reported that Poma
and his accomplices had been imprisoned at Rome; it transpired, how-
ever later ' that Parasio only had been placed in close custody in the
prisons of the Inquisition, on account of his violent language against
the Court in regard to the non--fulfilment of the promises which had
been made to him and to his accomplices. Throughout Contarini's
1 Rome, 19th July 1608.
H
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? 162 THE LIFE OF ' [AD. 160? .
letters the same desire to discover these assassins continues and the
whole of the despatches are of great interest.
Letters of the Ambassador Contarini.
" To the Council of Ten,
" Most Serene Prince,
" To what I wrote last post I respectfully add by one, who knows
him very well.
" Poma was seen here in Rome one Sunday at the Trinit'a di Monte,
an out of the way place, and of small resort, together with a lad,
supposed to be his son, with an old man, and another with red hair,
his servant. I know that this servant goes every week with a billet
to the register of the Venice post to receive letters which, with a
feigned direction, are addressed to the said Poma. For many days I
'have been pondering on the mode of having these letters Withheld;
but I do not find it safe, for this register, named Simon Bigozzi, is a
Florentine; nor do I rely on trusting this foreigner, appointed I know
not how to this charge, the which, as all the couriers are our subjects,
ought likewise to be held by one, for he sees, handles, receives, distri-
butes, and notes all the letters; and in many instances it would prove
very convenient, the having there a confidential person. I have confid-
ed the detail about those letters of Poma to Pietro Basis, an old
courier, and who is the vice--master of the couriers in 'their house
here; charging him on his life's peril, in the name of your most
excellent Council, to keep it secret, desiring him to act with caution,
so as to obtain and bring them to me; but he has not been able to
do this, wherefore I give respectful notice thereof to your Excellen- -
cies, so that such resolve shall be taken as may be deemed best, and
in order that your Lordship may know that I fail not to do as much
as I am permitted, by the manner wherewith we must act under
existing circumstances. It was a great light to me the information I
received from your Excellencies, about the two dismissed Franciscan
friars, when His Holiness spoke to me on the subject. As I write to
the most excellent Senate, it was of great use, as enabling me to speak
resolutely, which causeth the Pontiff not to push the matter further,
or make any other reply. Gratiae, etc. "
Again: "The imprisonment of Alessandro Parasio is confirmed, in
whose name, and in whose favour, as it has been told me, M. Napi
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? Ar. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI. 163
likewise a native of Ancona, spoke a few days since to the Cardinal
Borghese about some acknowledgment for the services rendered, but
not having obtained too favourable an answer, and reporting this to
Alessandro Parasio, it/made him fly into the greatest wrath; and he
protested that he would go into Turkey, using other similar language,
as usual with a man dissatisfied and desperate as it were. Monsieur Napi,
though the friend and confidant of the said Parasio, and who moreover
sought him every advantage, on hearing this, had more regard for his
own than for his neighbour's interest, and so went and told the whole
in detail to the Cardinal Borghese, who immediately betook himself to
the Pontiff, where the business being discussed, it was determined that
this Monsignore should be the medium for his getting into the hands
of the Sbirri, as took place; and Monsignore Fonti, the Cardinal Bor-
ghese's auditor, served to point him to the Barigello, who arrested him
on Sunday the 8th, immediately on his coming out of S. Sylvester's
Church, at Monte Cavallo, and having instantly put him into a car-
riage, hehlrasltaken to 'Borgo' to the prisons of the Inquisition. I
understand that it is being endeavoured to obtain certain writings which
he denies hdving kept. I
"By great diligence," the Contarini, "had become acquainted with
the feigned names under which the letters were addressed from Venice
to Rodolfa Poma. Of two of them he says. 'The which, having first
copied and rescaled, I caused to be returned to their address, in order
not to create suspicion,' They Were letters from Poma's cloistered
daughters, signed Hipolita Poma, from Padua, January 14th, 1608;
there were also two other letters, which were forwarded to the Council.
The letters Were addressed to Carlo Gattardo, Silvestro Ridolfi, Frede-
rico Bolucci, Paulo de Santi, Paulo Bortolaeci, and the above copies
were sent to the Doge by Contarini. Y'
" Most Serene Prince,
v
" Herewith your Serenity will receive the substance of what Matteo . .
JWJ 1:
Schiavon, one of the boatmen who rowed Poma, stated to my secretary
' on two occasions, when he went to seek him in his apartments, and
likewise what Tomeo di Zanon, the owner of the shallop, told a person,
my confidant, for I did not allow him to come, as he wanted to do,
and speak here in the palace, ' both on account of the different nature
of his sentence, and because little else could have been elicited from
'. e. N'? 3- '
'' pp
la'? !
1 To the Council of Ten, 2nd February, 1608, from Rome.
5 The Venetian ambassador's palace, called S. Mark's, Rome.
u&\
13. 1
M'; .
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? 164 _ THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608.
him, in addition to what has been obtained from other sources. From
these two expositions, should they contain nothing else of importance,
your. Serenity will at least learn concerning Poma, how he keeps hid-
den, and his situation- (as I moreover have written heretofore), how
much he endeavours to remove these men to a distance, and the
confirmation of what I have previously hinted at, that Alessandro de
Franceschi is his agent, and has held intercourse with him since last
June or July, when the said Rodolfo Poma was at Rome, and when
he left a servant of his in his house, who, immediately after the deed,
went to meet him with a supply of money at Ancona.
_ " It seems he has some intention of returning home; should I become
11' Z17 aware of his reaching it, I will give account thereof to your Excel-
-/~~ lencies, of the mode whereby the said Matteo took to come and speak
with the Secretary, who was very cautious; so that he has not even
a -thought of its having been wished for. Then with regard to the
, statement of that other, namely of Tomeo, the whole is rendered intel-
ligible by the statement itself. " 'QQG
Here follows the statement of Matteo Schiavon. Ibid,-oamthe 24th
February, at Rome, in St. Mark's Palace. A
"Matteo Schiavon, boatman, one of those who rowed Poma, having
come by stealth to my apartments, I, Vittor Barbaro, Secretary of
the Ambassador Contarini, at the second hour of the night, told him
I was glad to see him well, but was sorry for his troubles, and to
give him confidence to speak freely, I added that I considered it
certain he had been deceived, and that one might moreover argue
thus from the nature of his sentence, and the clemency of the
alternative.
"Jwhereupon, bewailing his fate, and the misery of his wife and
W0? four children in Venice, and to his having been in fact
deceived and betrayed, he commenced speaking to me confidentially,
and told me in substance:
"The Signor Bidolfo Hma disappeared from Venice last July, in
I A"; consequence of failure -on the mart. One day unexpectedly he stood
Lb 'before me and said, 'Villain, what art thou doing? ' I answered,
"*7 Z '-God be praised, for -that certain foolfli people, who speaking about#&
' you, said you had failed, lied by the throat. ' He asked me whether
J I could -go with him to Padua. I answered 'Yes;' and we went there
4 "H with the gondola. He went about to one monastery and the other,
LL and came lg-ac_k to Venice; and returned in a Paduan boat which towed
the gondola, whither he took four girls of his into convents; and his
Sister di Gollardi and two maid servants accompanied them. In
returning, we took up the Chaplain of the Nuns of Santa Giustina at
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? arr 56. ] FRA PAOLO SABPI 165
la Mira, and came on merrily to "Venice. It strikes me that the
Chaplain subsequently saved some of his property. He asked me whe-
ther I would go to Loretto with him, and that he would moreover go'
as far as Bitonto, I said 'yes,' but that I must have a little money
at home/'He said he had not got any, so I, who served a grocer with
my gondola, in order to pay it off, for it had been made at his cost,
took eighteen ducats from another gondolier, and made it over to him
for him to pay for. This money I left at home; and having taken
these clothes which are now on my back, I went to Poma; and at the
water entrance of his house,\Ma embarked in a gondola by day three
or four little coffers, which I for my part thought was money he was
carrying away, and was that for---w-ls-i-oh he had failed. Being thus two
oars, namely myself and Paulo de Santa Giustina, he said to us, "I
don't choose to be seen getting into the gondola here at the entrance;
so while I go and look after the shallop on the Bio of S. Anna, do'
you go and wait for me at the FondamentLNuovQ_and don't go away,
for I shall soon be there. ' 1 We waited as ordered; Lbecame thirsty,
and would not go so far as my home, but sent to buy a little ,,y? ne;"
then came Fra Michel Viti, and inquired for Poma, saying, '
come yet? ' We told him 'no,' and he got into the gondola to Wait
E
'. A'
juncle "
5
' . - . h ' ''
for him. " I have asked him whether Poma was really
uncle; and he told me that he called him so, and that he knew nothing
J
further; and he continued: " Subsequently Poma came, with his usual A S
cloak wrapped up to his eyes, and said, 'Are you here my lads? '
"He got into the gondola desiring us to go towards the castle, and
said, 'I also will row a little,' and having laid down his cloak and'
a blunderbuss which he Had himself fitted on the crutch, the second
astern, began rowing. We were at a very little distance from the
Fonda/r\nentQ_ and two men came up who also called out, 'Sir, take
us also. ' Poma made us return to the quay, and we brought them
off without any tumult of people, or any one. He made us'go to the
cottage beyond the Certosa, apparently the edge of the lagoons at the
back of the Castle of S. Andrea' in fact on a strip of the Lido, across
which the murderers then made their way to the beach, - where the
shallop was waiting for them) and they disembarked, and there 'on
shore they came towards us, the Signor Alessandro Parasio 'with the'
J\'-fins-1
1 The date of the conversation here detailed was October 5th, 1607. "On the'
evening of which day, about an hour before sunset, Poma and-his accomplices' '
attacked Fra Paolo Sarpi at the bridge of S. Fosca, close to the Monastery of r
the Servites. The Bio of S. Anna, which Poma mentions as a stand for shal-
lops, 1607, continued such till very lately, and runs parallel to the public}
gardens towards the land entry. ' '
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? 166 THE LIFE OF' [A. n. 1608.
crew of the shallop which was on the beach, and he had the effects
taken out of the gondola and carried overland to the shallop; and to
M am, who chanced to be there, he gave a piece of forty soldi to take
the gondola to my house, but it was not mine. Having thps got on
board the shallop at sea, during the night we had almost a constant
calm, save on the fifth hour a little sirocco and swell, which soon
TL subsided, and at the first hour we made Goro, where Poma and Pa-
i-asio having disembarked. desired us to go and wait for them at Ra-
venns, and he took horses and went away with the said Parasio, I
believe to Padua, for they afterwards returned to Ravenna, bringing
the lad, the said Poma's son, who was certainly at Padua, and another
iad, his nephew, named Carlo Gottardo, his sister's son, who was like-
wise at Padua. On the same day after they had ridden off, whilst
steering our course to Ravenna, all went to sleep, except a boy who
was at the helm, the sail being hoisted in a calm; and hard by were
the boats of the Lord Chiefs of the Ten the which, had they boarded
. us, we should all have been taken napping. At Ravenna, Father
Michael artfully;;as I stated, after Poma was at the FondamentQ Nuc-
W V Pasqual di Bitonto, and Zuane di Fiorenza should all three
,2 V sleep on shore, I believe because he expected us to learn there some
A news of the assassination they had committed at Venice,_ and he was
%' afraid, and thus did it turn out; for an estafette wh'icli"'i-cached that
city divulged the fact, so I began lamenting and complaining to the
4" priest that I had been sacrificed, and he swore as a priest, and vowed
'? ? "'? ||, by the consecration of his person, that it was not true. However, one
2; M night he went o5, together with the others with the shallop without
$ saying a word to us, and left us there on shore, and hearing that he
~r
was gone to Ravenna we likewise proceeded thither with fresh la-
-- mentations and complaints, for we heard say besides that we 'should
-4' all be quartered and quite lost. I had thrown myself down on the
M4 ground there, under a portico, crying and hollowing with all my might,
1. one Vincencetto of the castle, a Venetian, who came up by chance
We put us up to carrying 05 the priest to Venice with the shallop,
_-I-0
saying that we should be set at liberty, and get four thousand ducats
reward, and he had so well persuaded us" that believing we should do
' thus he Went to Venice to say we were going there; but the priest
| secured himself by taking the effects ashore to the governor of the
city, and observed great caution, and subsequently Poma arrived with
Parasio, and the two lads aforesaid in a carriage, and having paid the
crew of the shallop twenty six livres each, left them there, whereat
they complained and stormed dreadfully, and he merely took me and
Paulo with the carriage to Ancona, where the whole being discovered,
V
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? El'. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 167
Poma said to me, 'Never fear, for as is my lot so shall be thine, if
thou art outlawed, I'll buy thee a commutation. ' One day in Ancona,
whilst walking about, I met one Roberto Fiamengo, a red--haired man,
'Poma's servant, who was coming along on horseback, he is my chum,
or gossip, and when he saw me he complained, saying to me, ' Thou'rt
here, gossip, thee too, they ruin thee tool' and he told me that Poma
had left him last summer here in Rome, in the house of one Ales-
sandro F1-anceschi, a Venetian, and that the said Franceschi had given
him the horse and money for him to come immediately to Venice by
Ancona to his master Poma, to convey to him a letter which this
Alessandro Franceschi had given him to receive a thousand ducats
here in Ancona, given him by the Pope, and so through this letter the
said Poma had the money which was paid him by Girolamo Scalin-
monti, the Pope's agent in Ancona, and he is moreover having the
walls of that city repaired, and he gave it him in high time, for he
had not a farthing. We then went to Loretto, and whilst I was in the
Church of our Lady, taking the communion they planted me, and all
went away without saying anything to me.
" So remaining as if lost I returned to Ancona, and first gained my live-
lihood by fishing for oysters, and then coasting along that shore as far as
the Albruzzo in a Chioggian vessel, in like manner as the other boatmen
maintained themselves. I heard that Poma was at Rome; I wrote to him
to ask for what belonged to me, for he had engaged me at the rate of forty
soldi per diem, and my board/' he sent me two letters in reply, and said
he would send me money, but I have never seen anything. There are the
letters, and he shewed me two, one dated 12th' December from the Cam-
pagna of Rome, the other from Paliano, dated the 2&1: of January, where-
by he exhorts him in kind terms to go and present himself at Venice,
that he not forget him, and this is the substance of the said letters,
telling him not to come to Rome by any means as it would be bad for all.
He in like manner showed me a letter sent him by his wife, with the copy
of his sentence, which is the same one had here at the palace, and that was
opened and read, but he suspects Poma of having forged it in order to
make him so much the more easily determine to-go-to-Venice. He then
added, latterly at Ruanati, I heard thaton the 13th of January, Alessan-
dro Parasio had been put in prison here in Rome (8th January, Despatch
106), and that Poma was made warder of Perugia, so seeing that he had
said he would send me money, but never remitted any to me, I resolved
on coming here, together with Tomeo di Zanon, the master of the shal-
lop. We arrived here on Ash Wednesday, and went hunting for Poma,
Parasio, Poma's servant, or some one of them; nor have we been able to
find them. But we have heard that one Zan Antonio Gottardo, the ne-'
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? 168 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608-
pliew, and Zan Battista, the son of Poma, are come to Bitonto, but we
cannot get a sight of any of them, we believe they hide themselves, and
the other day there came a young man Well dressed as a priest, who told '
us that if we were looking for Poma that he was gone to Naples to collect
certain monies of his, but that he would cause us to receive some aims to
furnish me with the means of going to Venice, as I have the advantage of
being able to present myself, and to the master of the shallop, who lacks
this privilege, that he may go to Bitonto, where the means of support will
not fail him, and he warned us not to show ourselves here to the ambas-
sador, who would give us a good dressing. We asked him his name; he
said it was Fulvio Spe% and that he lived with the Cardinal Bevi-
lacqua, but he does not reside there, this name is not known. I keep think-
i 1g he may be that Alessandro de Franceschi; he is a tidy, dark youth. I
think 'tis so, but I don't know him. We have met him twice or thrice in
the street, and he wanted us to go on Friday to the palace at S. Peter's,
and I know not for what purpose he did not choose to go. The arrange-
ment was for us to be there after dinner, but we did not go. We mean for
a certainty to discover this Poma, and be paid. Were I to go to Venice, I
imagine that my poor wife will have sold and pawned all I have in the
world to support the children, and I should but go to die with them of
want. I keep thinking of going in preference to Leghorn, and of serving
on board the Grand Duke's vessels. " This is what he said to me, and as
he is a man in his prime, and of very fine. stature, I dissuaded him to the
utmost from the thought of going to Leghorn, exhorting him not to lose
the opportunity of presenting himself at Venice, where he will at all
events he at home, and should he allow this opportunity to escape he
might possibly sigh for it in vain all the rest of his life, without being
able again to see his children and his home; and _with the tears in his
eyes he concluded by saying that he would try whether he could rescue
anything out of the hands of those men, and having arranged to come to
me to report what befell him, he departed. "
" On the 26th of February, the aforesaid having returned at the usual
hour to me, my secretary added to me in substance that Poma's servant,
nanied Roberto, was in the palace of the Cardinal Colonna. He yesterday
kept walking in its neighbourhood such a length of time that he met
him, and after the said Roberto had complained of being himself likewise
ruined, saying that Poma and the others had fled hence, and that Ales-
sandro Parasio had been imprisoned for his talk, and that he did not know
what had become of him, he informed him as a secret, that Andrea Enici,
a Genoese, late agent for Poma in Venice, was reading there in the palace,
and that he ought to go and speak to him; and whilst talking with the
servant, on raising his eyes, he saw at a window of the palace of the said
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? arr. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SARPI 169
Cardinal Colonna, Gio. Battista ,Poma, Ridolfo's son, whom he knows'
very well, and having quitted the servant and gone upstairs to the rooms
pointed out to him as those of the said Enici, he found there Paulo of
St. Giustina the boatman, and spoke with Andrea Enici, who likewise
stating that Poma Was not there, answered him in reply to his demands
for payment, that he does not know what to do. He afterwards met in
the street near there the priest called Fulvio Splronati, who apologised for
not having shown himself on account of the rain that has fallen these
past two -days, and made an appoin_tment for him to meet him in the
evening when he would place him for four or six days, until some other
arrangement could be made, in a room where he would be boarded by a
certain woman, and that thus would he do out of charity, and for love of
the Signor Gio. Battista, for that he does not know the Signor Ridolfo.
He went that evening as 'ordered, but the priest never came, so having
returned to-day to speak to Enici he desired him to come again to-morrow
at dinner-time, and that he will give him the means for betaking himself
to Venice; and he says he considers it certain that that priest who spoke
to him does not bear the name of Fulvio, for when he mentioned him to
Enici he did not understand him, but subsequently appeared to compre'
hend)\which Matteo having recounted to me the details aforesaid, departed,
saying that he will go tomorrow as ordered and will come and tell me
the whole, adding in the act of departure that he had forgot to tell me
that one Lodovico who rowed in the shallop, and was outlawed at Ancona,
immediately on reaching that city, notwithstanding his outlawry, walked
about, and freely frequented every place. " Nothing need be added to this
prolix testimony uriless it be that of Thomas de Zanon ' who was seen
walking and talking openly in the ga. l. l. e. r:y of the Vatican with* Vene-
ze?
/,-'
6,5. . . "
tian priest ,F-ranoeeebi. Zanon alledged that he had come from Leghorn in *
a Florentine vessel; but he betrayed himself by complaining that he was
still unrewarded, and at last confessed that he " was the master of the
shallop in which Poma had escaped from Venice. " He affirmed that Mat-
teo, the gondolier, knew all, and when Poma got into the gondola at the
FondamentQ,NuovQwhen driven by the populace, and Matteo asked him
whether he had done the business? Poma urged him to row, saying' Woe
to us, we shall all be quartered, ' and Matteo answered ' Never fear, sir, as
long as you see me. ' Zanon Was left with the shallop; and Matteo, on whom
Zanon cast unmeasured blame, came to Rome to see what he could get. "
It is apparent from this long but important document, that description of
spies and remarks on the Pope's unwearied complaint of the theologians
filled a considerable portion of the ambassador's letters, and it is only
1 All from the MSS. Contarini, 28th February 1608.
\/'? 7M. e.
A-.
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? l70 THE LIFE OF [A. D. 1608.
,. >>
wonderful that he was able to steer his course through such a labyrinth of
difficulty.
While his defender was thus engaged at Rome, Fra Paolo pursued the
even tenor of his way, strong in the conviction that although his life was
hourly in danger, and there were other machinations against him, unless
by the will of God not a hair of his head would be injured. He held the opi-
nion of Saint Augustine as to God being the Disposer and Controller of all
events, and although he khew that not many paces from the Convent door,
lay men ready to seize him he lived in peace, and in patience possessed his
soul. He still suffered much pain in his face consequent upon his wound,
and he felt his eyesight so much affected, that he could scarcely look
stedfastly on any object. He was obliged to wear spectacles while reading,
but happily he could avail himself of his knowledge asan optician in his
need, and he does not appear to have relaxed at all in his studies. But af-
fairs of greater moment than his bodily ailments now began to engross
his attention, and the Spanish fleet which was armed with 20,000 men,
could not cruise in the Mediterranean without exciting public uneasiness.
This, however, Sarpi tried to allay, believing the armament was merely a
demonstration of strength: he was more occupied by severe disappointments
since the raising of the Interdict, one of which was, that Casanbon had not
been rewarded for his services to the Republic. Much as the Senators had
done for the security of Fra Paolo, they did more, they provided him with
means to pay a person always to accompany him, and not only increased
his salary, but decided that the public should pay for a house in Saint
Mark's where he could live in safety. But the Father was determined not
to change his abode, and entreated to be allowed to reside in the Convent
with thefriars with whom he had lived so long, declaring that he should
never be bble to live in any other manner, that being. his vocation, in this
he was gratified, except that the Senate erected somesmall buildings
adjoining his chamber, from which by a little corridor and staircase he
would enter a boat, so that when he had occasion to return to the Convent
by night he might not be exposed to treachery. He was thus necessarily
obliged to make some change as to his expenses, although he did not spend
more than was absolutely needful, -in no way abating the rigor of his po-
verty as a friar, content with his simple food and clothing. But after
the attempt on his life' he was obliged not to walk from the Servi, because
it being necessary for him to pass through alleys which afforded an op-
portunity to any one who wished to assassinate him. During the sixteen
following years he went in his gondola from his Convent to the Rialto, land-
ed there, and then through the Merceria to S. Mark's, merely for daily
exercise that he might not lose the habit of walking altogether, and he found
it necessary to have two companions, one as his servant, the other as his
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-11 22:54 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. 31158010289923 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? Arr. 56. ] FRA PAOLO SABPI 171
amanuensis, Fra Marco to whom he gave twelve hundred ducats, and fifty
ducats per annum, and to Fra Marino three hundred which he placed in
the bank for him at ten per cent, that he might not only have a living, but
also forty ducats per annum, and he increased his gifts of bread and wine
to the convent, and also to the cooks, to one of whom he gave sixty ducats
per annum. These gifts were made from prudential causes in self defence,
they conciliated many, as well as made them interested in the preservation
of his life, but with these expenses he could no longer persist in his deter-
mination not to receive the stipend assigned to him by the public munifi-
cence. He was obliged to make a great change in his reception of strangers.
He never conversed with any one but in his own chamber in the convent
or in the church, in the choir, when coming to service or to the refectory
to meals. His life was that of a hermit, he was solitary so far as his pub-
lic duties permitted; his world was his poor cell, and the little path be-
tween the Rialto and S.
