The Venetian Inquisition, formally the Holy Office (), was the tribunal established jointly by the Venetian government and the Catholic Church to repress heresy throughout the Republic of Venice. The inquisition also intervened in cases of sacrilege, apostasy, prohibited books, superstition, and witchcraft. It was established in the 16th-century and was abolished in 1797.

History Early inquisitions In the Republic of Venice, the doge, as the supreme judicial authority, was ultimately responsible for repressing heresy, which was seen as a threat to the good ordering of the society. Yet heresy, even though considered among the most heinous of crimes, is not listed as an offence in the of 1232, the document revised by Doge Jacopo Tiepolo that articulated punishable crimes.Calimani, L'inquisizione a Venezia..., p. 7Albanese, L’inquisizione religiosa nella repubblica di Venezia..., p. 51 Specific magistrates super inquirendis hereticis to assist the doge in cases of heresy are first mentioned in the coronation oath, promissione ducale, of Doge Marino Morosini, dated 13 June 1249.Tiepolo, 'Venezia', p. 1004In his history of the Venetian Inquisition, Discorso dell'origine, forma, leggi ed uso dell'Uffizio dell'Inquisizione nella città e dominio di Venezia (1638), Paolo Sarpi affirms that the nomination of magistrates in 1249 to investigate cases of heresy and the formalization of a judicial process resulted from concerns for public order when Ghibelline immigrants from the March of Treviso and Romagna, sympathetic to the Holy Roman Empire and hostile to the pope, sought refuge in Venice. The prudence of the Venetian government, Sarpi writes, was to avoid the factional strife that had convulsed cities on the Italian mainland by creating magistrates to determine if any of the opinions of the refugees amounted to heresy. See Paolo Sarpi, Discorso dell'origine, forma, leggi ed uso dell'Uffizio dell'Inquisizione nella città e dominio di Venezia ([Venetia]: [n. pub], 1638), p. 32–33 and Albanese, L'inquisizione religiosa nella repubblica di Venezia..., p. 51 These magistrates were laymen personally chosen by the doge for their religious devotion and integrity. Although they were given authority to prosecute cases of heresy, the actual interrogation of suspected individuals was carried out by the patriarch of Grado, the bishop of Olivolo, and other Venetian bishops who as ordinaries had jurisdiction in virtue of their offices. The doge, in concert with the Great Council and the Minor Council, retained judicial authority with regard to sentencing, which included burning at the stake.Da Mosto, L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia..., p. 181A decree of 1184 by Pope Lucius III, and subsequent commentary, established that in cases of heresy burning was the most appropriate punishment; the execution, however, was to be deferred to secular authority. Similarly, in 1216 the Fourth Lateran Council recommended public burnings but prohibited the clergy from carrying out any sentence of death. See Calimani, L'inquisizione a Venezia..., pp. 6–7

On 12 August 1289, under pressure exerted by Pope Nicholas IV, the Great Council voted to admit the papal inquisition into Venice's territories. The council's decree, with the relative clauses, was inserted into the papal bull of 28 August 1289 that formally established the Holy Office in Venice. The Venetian government, however, reserved for itself a degree of control to ensure its sovereignty and its jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the state. Specifically, the doge retained the right to intervene in the proceedings of the inquisition, and the inquisitor, appointed directly by the pope, was to swear an oath of fidelity to the republic in the hands of doge, with the formal promise that he conceal nothing from the government. The state also exercised control financially by means of a fund, managed by the government, which received the assets confiscated from heretics and in turn covered the expenses of the Holy Office.Amelot de La Houssaie, The history of the government of Venice…, p. 228

Inquisitorial activity was only sporadic in Venice after 1423 when the government suspended the stipend of the inquisitor, but it intensified beginning in the 1530s, largely in response to the Protestant Reformation. The renewal of inquisitorial activity was also consistent with broader efforts to moralize the society and gain the favour of God following the Venetian defeat at the Battle of Agnadello in 1509, a defeat that was interpreted as divine punishment for the moral dissolution of the Venetians.Martin, Venice's Hidden Enemies..., pp. 57 and 60–61

Roman Inquisition

In 1542, Pope Paul III established the Roman Inquisition as part of the Catholic Church's efforts to repress Protestantism in the period of the Counter Reformation. Unlike earlier inquisitions which tasked secular authorities with the punishment of heretics, the new institution depended directly upon the Holy See and had full authority throughout the Italian peninsula to identify and interrogate heretics and emit sentences, including the death penalty. The objective was to eliminate religious dissent and ensure uniformity of doctrine.Pittalis, L’inquisizione a Venezia, p. 23 To secular rulers, the pope warned of the risks that came with heresy: social disorder, subversion of authority, and even the wrath of God for those governments that tolerated sin.Pittalis, L'inquisizione a Venezia, p. 58Calimani, L'inquisizione a Venezia..., p. 65

The creation of the Roman Inquisition was strongly advocated by Cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa, later Pope Paul IV, largely on the basis of his personal experiences in Venice. He had taken refuge in the city in 1527, following the Sack of Rome, and remained until 1536. In a missive to Pope Clement VII in 1532, Caraffa lamented the diffusion of heresy in Venice and its territories, noting specifically the presence of itinerant apostates, particularly conventual Franciscans. The inquisition, he proposed, was the best remedy to restore the honour of the Holy See and to punish those heretics who misled the faithful.Santarelli, 'Eresia, Riforma e Inquisizione...', pp. 80–81

On its part, the Venetian government was resistant to the establishment of an inquisitorial tribunal with direct allegiance to Rome. Although it shared the Church's objective of maintaining an orderly society with a hierarchical structure and shared values, its trading interests required a degree of tolerance that made it possible for merchants of faiths other than Catholicism to conduct affairs in the city, unhindered.Pittalis, L'inquisizione a Venezia, p. 59Santarelli, 'Eresia, Riforma e Inquisizione...', p. 85 The government further sought to defend its autonomy in the administration of justice.Del Col, Andrea, 'L'inquisizione romana...', p. 230Pittalis, L'inquisizione a Venezia, p. 54 Resistance also stemmed from the longstanding Venetian conception of the state as a sacred entity empowered by God and the resulting assertion of the government to administer local ecclesiastical matters.Santarelli, 'Eresia, Riforma e Inquisizione...', pp. 86–87

The task of reaching a compromise between the Church and the republic fell to Giovanni della Casa, archbishop of Benevento, who was nominated papal nuncio to Venice in 1544. He was to institute the new tribunal and organize the first trials of the Protestant reformers. Della Casa judiciously chose his cases and concentrated on prosecuting those heretics that were a greater threat to social order and the security of the state in an effort to win over the Venetian government. A shift in the international balance of power also favoured his cause. The deaths in quick succession of King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France strengthened the position of the Church's principal ally, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V who went on the offensive against the Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes. In this new reality, Venice's previous efforts to counter the influence of the Holy Roman Empire by cultivating relations with England, France, and the league were no longer practicable. Prudence dictated greater support for the empire and the Church.Grendler, 'The Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press...', p. 50Martin, Venice's Hidden Enemies..., pp. 52–55

Negotiations between della Casa and the Venetian government for the establishment of the Roman Inquisition in Venice continued. To the Venetian proposal that jurisdiction reside with the Venetian bishops as ordinaries, Paul III countered that the ordinaries were not sufficient and that time was of the essence. It was also suggested that the Church could try cases for heresy alone, but that all other related offences would be deferred to the state. The solution to the impasse was the creation by the Minor Council of the three (sages over heresy) on 22 April 1547. These Venetian officials, described as "honest, discreet, and Catholic men" (), were to assist and control the ecclesiastic tribunal with the objective of defending the sovereignty of the republic and its jurisdiction over its subjects.Calimani, L'inquisizione a Venezia..., p. 64 They were to block any proceedings of the Holy Office that might have violated Venetian laws and customs or had ramifications for the economic, social, and diplomatic interests of the state. Without their participation, the proceedings of the inquisition would be invalid, .Milan, Politi, and Vianello, Guida alle magistrature..., p. 96 Although the Holy Office in Rome had sought greater clerical control, della Casa reassured his superiors that the three nobles chosen as the first were intent on repressing heresy.Martin, Venice's Hidden Enemies..., p. 55 Doge Francesco Donà himself had declared that there was "nothing more fitting a Christian prince than zeal in religion and the defence of the Catholic faith".Martin, Venice's Hidden Enemies..., p. 51

Composition The Venetian Holy Office consisted of six members, three clerical and three lay, plus staff.

Clerics

The inquisitor, as judge-delegate of the pope, was responsible for conducting the trial and for ascertaining heresy. He was ideally a theologian of at least 40 years of age, and it was desirable that he also be qualified in canon law. In proceedings, he was assisted by the commissario who acted as his deputy.Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice..., p. 30 Although the inquisitor was nominated by the pope, a formal grant of the Full College, the executive committee of the Senate, was required before a newly appointed inquisitor could begin service. Furthermore, he largely served at the pleasure of the Venetian government which could call for his substitution: in 1560 the government demanded the removal of Filippo Peretti, later Pope Sixtus V, for his intransigence. From that date, the inquisitor, since 1289 a Franciscan, was nominated from the Dominican order.Pittalis, L'inquisizione a Venezia, p. 61Calimani, L'inquisizione a Venezia..., p. 68

The Venetian Holy Office also included the papal nuncio. As the diplomatic representative of the papacy, he could intervene directly with the Venetian government to defend the interests of the Church and the inquisition, particularly in disputed cases. His participation ensured that the inquisition in Venice remained subject to the Holy Office in Rome and acted with the full authority of the pope. He enjoyed the judicial power of a legate in ecclesiastical matters and was responsible for all of the inquisitorial tribunals within Venice's subject territories. Often the papal nuncio was substituted by the auditor-general who was a staff member and provided essential continuity from one nuncio to the next.Grendler, 'The Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press...', p. 51Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice..., pp. 27–29