The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

100 HISTORY OF THE POPES.
prudence, or to compromise the reputation of his predecessors,
he was
even in the case of Paul IV., whom he had so revered ;
also ready to trample on the interests of people whose assist-
ance might be very useful to him.^ Even Alessandro Pallan-
tieri, the procurator-fiscal in the Carafa trial, did not escape
punishment. He had become governor of the March of
Ancona at the beginning of 1567,^ and it seemed as though his
great severity had won the Pope's favour to such an extent
that men were prophesying the cardinalate for him,^ when
all of a sudden, on September 17th, 1569, he was imprisoned
by the Inquisition* on the charge of having, in the time of
Julius III., obtained by bribery the release from prison of a
relapsed heretic of Faenza, of having retained a considerable
part of the Carafa property in spite of the order for restitution
made by Pius V., and of having paid no attention to the
excommunication which he had incurred by so doing. ^ The
investigation of these charges brought to light the part which
Pallantieri had played in the conduct of the Carafa trial.
The trial of Pallantieri ended in his being condemned to death,
and on June 7th, 1571, the sentence was carried out on the
very spot where the Duke of Paliano had been beheaded.'
^ See Ancel, loc. cit. 181.
^ See Garampi, Sul valore, 293.
* See the *Avviso di Roma of June 9, 1571, Urb. 1042, p. 70,
Vatican Library.
* See Marini, I., 428.
® See *Avviso di Roma of September 27, 1569, Urb. 1041,
p. 155b, Vatican Library.
* According to the *Avviso di Roma of October 8, 1569 {loc.
cit. 159) all the acts of the Carafa trial were then taken to the
Inquisition ; it is in those archives, therefore, that search must be
made for the acts of the revision held by the orders of Pius V.
' See *Avviso di Roma of June 9, 1571, loc cit. and the *report
of Arco of June 9, 1571. The latter *relates on May 19, 1571,
that on the Thursday the case of Pallantieri was considered in
the presence of the Pope, who for three hours heard pro et contra.
State Archives, Vienna. Ibid, an *Avviso of March 17, 15 71,
according to which Pallantieri tried to save himself b}- paying
30,000 scudi. In the opinion of Pallavicini, Palantieri deserved