LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Feb Grand Format Book & Manuscript #682  / 

56273

Pope Urban VIII Letter Signed as Pope.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:11,000.00 USD Estimated At:600.00 - 800.00 USD
Pope Urban VIII Letter Signed as Pope.
<B>Pope Urban VIII Letter Signed as Pope.</B></I> One page, 8" x 11", the Vatican, 1625. Born Maffeo Barberini (1568-1644), Urban was Pope from 1623 until 1644. He was very active in church affairs and was the last Pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms. He built and decorated extensively in Rome, at times pillaging massive bronze girders from the portico of the Pantheon, leading to a famous quote <I>quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini</B></I> (what the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did). Despite an early friendship, Urban summoned Galileo to Rome in 1633, condemning him for his support of the Copernican theory that placed the sun, rather than the earth, at the center of the universe; Urban later freed him. By the end of his papacy, he had amassed a large debt and was rather unpopular with his followers. Light staining but very bold writing, fine condition.<BR><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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