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Italy in the early modern period was one of the wealthiest areas of Europe, it had a very advanced and sophisticated culture. Many Italians were appalled by the corruption of the Church and indeed there had been several movements that challenged the supremacy of the Papacy in Italy, since the early middle ages. However, despite these factors, the Reformation did not have any lasting impact on Italy. Indeed, there was only a very brief Italian Reformation and by 1600 Protestantism was effectively extinct in Italy and Catholicism was even strengthened. This article seeks to understand why did the Reformation fail in Italy. It will argue that Protestantism was unable to establish itself on the Peninsula for three reasons; the political power of the Catholic Church, the states’ support for the Counter-Reformation and the Inquisition and popular attachment to the traditional religion.
==Background==
It has been widely stated that Italian society in the Renaissance was largely secular. This has been challenged by Burckhardt among others <ref> Burckhardt, Jakob. The civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (London, Penguin, 1992), p. 34</ref>. The elite was largely secular and the humanist class of scholars was more interested in the classics than the bible. However, the majority of the country was religious. Italians went to mass and took part in religious festivals. The morals and the beliefs of the population were very much influenced by the Catholic Church<ref> Payton James. Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings (IVP, 2010), p. 79</ref>. This is remarkable given the corruption and the decadence of the Papacy. The Pope was a powerful secular ruler and controlled much of central Italy. They often appeared to be more interested in their secular power than their role as the Head of the Church. Julius II was more interested in wars than religion. Then there was the corruption of the Popes, best illustrated in the reign of Pope Alexander IV. Many Italians, such as Machiavelli had long been disenchanted with the Papacy and blamed it for the divisions in Italy and for the various invasions since 1494<ref> Machiavelli, N. The Prince (London, Penguin, 1999), pp 15-16</ref>. The clergy and the monastic orders all had become corrupt and worldly. The monks were accused of being lazy and more interested in a life of ease that the souls of the people. Now the reports of clerical corruption were probably exaggerated, especially by humanist writers but there is no doubt to believe that the Church in Italy was corrupt and not providing for the spiritual welfare of the people. Many Italians had long been worried by the failings of the Church and they were especially concerned that the corrupt clergy could not help them achieve salvation and save their ‘immortal souls’ <ref>Patrick, James. Renaissance and Reformation (New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2007), p. 89</ref>. There was a long history in Italy of ‘heresy’. Many Italians especially, in the Northern Cities had joined groups that were not happy with the Catholic Church and had developed their own doctrines and practices. They had all being suppressed. In the 1490s, Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498), a Friar launched a religious revival in Florence. This included the famous ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’. Savonarola was soon so influential that he was able to expel the de Medici and establish a theocracy in Florence. Later Savonarola was burned at the stake. In the early days of the Protestant Reformation, many expected that Italy would reject the Catholic Church. Yet this did not prove to be the case <ref>Weinstein, Donald "Savonarola the Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet" (New Haven, 2011), pp 45-134</reref>.
[[File: Inquisition One.jpg |thumbnail|200px|An etching of an Inquisition trial]]
==Italian Reformation==
Inquisition 2.jpg
[[File: Inquisition 2.jpg |thumbnail|200px|Contemporary portrait of Savonarola]]
==Persecution==
One of the reasons for the failure of Protestantism to make any inroads in Italy was because of persecution by the Catholic Church, usually with the support of the local rulers. The Church in Italy was corrupt but it was also powerful. Since the early middle ages, the Inquisition had not been very active. In general, the humanists had been able to hold many unorthodox views and opinions. The threat of Protestantism meant that the Inquisition was reformed and became much more active<ref> Burman, Edward, The Inquisition: The Hammer of Heresy (London, Sutton Publishers, 2004), p 67, 78</ref>. The Inquisition was a series of institutions that were dedicated to ensuring religious conformity and to the eradication of any heretical beliefs. Soon the Inquisition was searching out for Protestants and arresting them. Those who were suspected of holding views that were sympathetic to Protestantism were deemed to be heretics. They were placed often in special prisons, tortured and tried in Church courts. Protestants, if found guilty of heresy could be sentenced to death. Many Protestants were executed in brutal ways. Bartolomeo Fonzio, who translated some Protestant tracts into Italian was drowned and more were burnt at the stake. These executions all took place in public and the Italian population was left in no doubt of the dangers of even sympathizing with the Protestant cause. The Church in Italy was able to prevent the spread of Lutheran or other Protestant ideas unlike in Northern Europe<ref>Burman, p 113</ref>. The Roman Catholic Hierarchy was able to suppress the teachings and the writings of the reformers. There was no discussion of the ideas of Luther or Calvin in the Universities of Italy. The Church was able to introduce a system of censorship that prevented Protestant literature and writings from reaching many Italians. The also operated an elaborate surveillance system: agents of the church would check people’s letters and ensured that the printing presses only produce works that conformed to Catholic teaching<ref>Burman, p. 115</ref>. Preaching was very important in the spread of Reformation but this was impossible in Italy. Any Italian or foreign Protestant who preached in Italy was liable to be arrested by the Inquisition.
