The Attempted Assassination of Paolo Sarpi
Remember that time when the Pope, the infallible head of the Catholic Church, excommunicated the entire city of Venice and put a hit out on Paolo Sarpi?
Today is October 5, 2017, and on this date 410 years back, in 1607, Paolo Sarpi survived an assassination attempt.
Paolo Sarpi was a Venetian Renaissance Man, both literally and figuratively. He was a scientist, historian, lawyer, an ecclesiastic, and statesman, in Venice during the late Renaissance era.
Following the death of Pope Clement VIII in 1605, Pope Paul V’s overstepping of the papal bounds put Venice on the defensive. The city implemented numerous new laws and policies to check the new Pope’s power. Pope Paul V responded by excommunicating the whole of Venice from the church, and issuing a papal interdict on Venice, effectively voiding all religious activity there as well as forbidding devout Catholics from going there.
Paolo Sarpi, a champion of republicanism and free thought, became involved in the ongoing power struggle as a state counsellor. As an ecclesiastic, comparable to a Bishop, he had the unique combination of knowledge and willingness needed for the Venetian Republic’s struggle with the Vatican. Sarpi’s ascent and growing renown infuriated the Pope.
Pope Paul V and Cardinal Scipio Borghese plotted Sarpi’s assassination. They enlisted Rotilio Orlandini to kill Sarpi for a fee of 8,000 crowns. This plot was discovered, and Orlandini and his brothers-in-law were all arrested when they entered Venice.
Undeterred, the Pope sent forth more assassins, and on October 5 Paolo Sarpi was attacked, suffering 15 stab wounds from stilettos before being left for dead.
The assassins fled to papal controlled lands and were greeted with a hero’s welcome. Pope Paul V was quite pleased to have such a powerful enemy out of his way. The assassins were granted pensions for their deeds.
But Paolo Sarpi survived. He lived out his days in relative comfort, enthralled in his works, despite several more threats on his life.
Pope Paul V settled his beef with Venice after France and Spain stepped in to mediate the situation in 1607. This afforded Paul with plenty of free time in the years to come to persecute Galileo Galilei during the Roman Inquisition before dying in 1621.
Paolo Sarpi died in 1623.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check back tomorrow for a Cold War terrorist plot full of mystery and intrigue.
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