2011-2012 - The Italian Academy - Columbia University

tions between the “scientific” (i.e., philosophical natural) and political
thought of Baroque Roman clergymen. To that purpose, I had at hand
the treatise on sacred politics (Rome, 1667) by Monsignor Giovanni
Battista Ciampoli (1589-1643), a scholar of Galileo, a Copernican and
the secretary of Pope Urban VIII. The theme of sovereignty as it was
conceived by a Copernican and a servant of the pope, the absolute
king of an elective monarchy, was revealed to be more than a merely
academic issue. A further prosopographical research into the curial
milieu that, at the beginning of the 17th century, sympathized with
Galileo (and opposed the Jesuits), shed new light on the contaminations
between the “new” philosopher’s party and the adversaries of
Robert Bellarmine’s political theology. The outcomes of this research
will be soon available in the edition of Ciampoli’s philosophical
works that I am editing for the Olschki publishing house in Florence.
The Academy proved to be the ideal setting for accomplishing
my work. Here I met the best group of Fellows with whom to discuss
my writing and research, in the Wednesday luncheon seminars,
in the Academy’s hallways and in private dinners. By chance, among
the Fall 2011 Fellows there were some outstanding scholars of Baroque
Rome, apart from the fact that the Director, David Freedberg,
is a most distinguished expert on the Academy of the Lincei!
Beside New York’s vibrant life, I really enjoyed the stimulating
intellectual environment of Columbia University (I am especially
grateful to Pamela Smith for her helpfulness and hospitality), of
the CUNY Graduate Center, and of Harvard University; I attended
several conferences organized by those institutions and by the Italian
Academy. In October, I participated (from abroad) in the international
conference on the Newtonian priest François Jacquier (1711-1788),
at Vitry-le-François. In November, I gave a lecture on Galileo in the
Roman Court and Curia in the CUNY Graduate Program in Comparative
Literature which was attended by many students and scholars.
The months I spent at the Italian Academy have been especially
fruitful and stimulating. I want to express my remarkable debt of
gratitude to the Director, the staff of the Academy, and the colleagues
and friends who made them an unforgettable experience.
Federica Favino returns to Sapienza Università di Roma as a Research
Fellow and a Lecturer in the History of Science.
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