Research Catalog

Title

The Vatican Heresy : Bernini and the Building of the Hermetic Temple of the Sun / Robert Bauval and Chiara Hohenzollern.

Author

Bauval, Robert, 1948-

Publication

Rochester, Vermont : Bear & Company, [2014]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Hohenzollern, Chiara, 1976-

Description

x, 276 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 23 cm

Summary

• "Reveals how the largest Sun Temple in the world, built according to Hermetic principles, is located at one of Christianity's holiest sites: the Vatican Shows how famous Renaissance philosophers and scientists called for a Hermetic reformation of Christianity by building a magical Temple of the Sun in Rome Explains how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter's Square to reflect heliocentric and Hermetic principles Reveals how the design was masterminded by Bernini, Jesuit scholars, the mystical Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes In 16th century Italy, in the midst of the Renaissance, two powerful movements took hold. The first, the Hermetic Movement, was inspired by an ancient set of books housed in the library of Cosimo de' Medici and written by the Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus. The movement expounded the return of the "true religion of the world" based on a form of natural magic that could draw down the powers of the heavens and incorporate them into statues and physical structures. The other movement, the Heliocentric Movement launched by Copernicus, was a direct challenge to the Vatican's biblical interpretation of a geocentric world system. Declared a heresy by the Pope, those who promoted it risked the full force of the Inquisition. Exploring the meeting point of these two movements, authors Robert Bauval and Chiara Hohenzollern reveal how the most outspoken and famous philosophers, alchemists, and scientists of the Renaissance, such as Giordano Bruno and Marsilio Ficino, called for a Hermetic reformation of the Christian religion by building a magical utopic city, an architectural version of the heliocentric system. Using contemporary documents and the latest cutting-edge theses, the authors show that this Temple of the Sun was built in Rome, directly in front of the Vatican's Basilica of St. Peter. They explain how the Vatican architect Bernini designed St. Peter's Square to reflect the esoteric principles of the Hermetica and how the square is a detailed representation of the heliocentric system. Revealing the magical architectural plan masterminded by the Renaissance's greatest minds, including Bernini, Jesuit scholars, Queen Christine of Sweden, and several popes, the authors expose the ultimate heresy of all time blessed by the Vatican itself"--
• "Reveals how the largest Sun Temple in the world, built according to Hermetic principles, is located at one of Christianity's holiest sites: the Vatican"--

Subject

• Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, 1598-1680 > Criticism and interpretation
• Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, 1598-1680
• Symbolism in architecture > Vatican City
• Temples, Egyptian > Vatican City
• Buildings
• Symbolism in architecture
• Temples, Egyptian
• Piazza San Pietro (Vatican City)
• Vatican City > Buildings, structures, etc
• Vatican City
• Vatican City > Piazza San Pietro

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Introduction: Hiding the Truth in Plain Sight -- The True Religion of the World -- The Hermetic Movement Part I -- The Hermetic Movement Part II -- The City of the Sun -- Urbi et Orbi: To the City and to the World -- Postscript: The Jesuit Pope -- Appendix 1: Campanella, the Rosicrucians, and the Miraculous Birth of the Sun King -- Appendix 2: The Elipse of St. Peter's Square.

ISBN

• 9781591431787
• 1591431786
• 9781591437567 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2013034235

OCLC

• ocn854945547
• 854945547
• SCSB-1777894

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library