No, our science will never be an illusion. If science is an illusion, then we would believe that what science cannot give us can be found elsewhere.
—Sigmund Freud
In 1630, Galileo was summoned to Rome by the Church to stand trial.
As a celebrity, he was not imprisoned like Bruno, but was instead housed at the Medici Villa near Piazza di Spagna.
The pope at the time, Urban VIII, was from Florence. In 1540, Cardinal Tepsiano purchased the land and built the villa.
At first, the villa was far less luxurious than it later became. Thirty years later, it came into the possession of Ferdinand Medici, who brought in large numbers of craftsmen and artists from Florence to renovate it.
It was a beautiful residence, perched atop Pincian Hill. From the villa's terrace, one could look southwest and see St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica had been under reconstruction since 1450. It gathered the wisdom of Renaissance masters, and tens of thousands of skilled artisans devoted more than a century of effort before it was completed in 1626.
In other words, from the Medici Villa, the aged Galileo could see the newly completed St. Peter's Basilica.
Though Urban VIII was pope, Cardinal Richelieu of France held the real power. The Thirty Years' War was at a decisive stage, but Urban VIII wanted to crush Protestant forces everywhere while fearing that the Habsburg dynasty would take control of Italy. Thus, he did not support the Habsburg dynasty and instead allied himself with his political rival, Cardinal Richelieu.
Richelieu regarded the Protestant Huguenots as a thorn in his side. While exterminating the Huguenot sect, he also fought to eliminate rebellious nobles within the country. In 1626, he uncovered a plot by Gaston, Duke of Orléans and brother to the King of