The university was under the supervision of the Independent Venetian Republic which insisted upon the right of its scholars to pursue their scientific studies without interference from the Inquisition.
Paintings now in the Academy detailed fanaticism in flagellants and the Inquisition, the phenomenon of witchcraft, the plight of prisoners and fantasies of the madhouse that mocked the " normal" world.
As Dr Tromer notes, by being able to monitor this, " I can show personalised ads based on your viewing habits, adjust your insurance premiums or send in the Spanish Inquisition" .
In his own lifetime Galileo was the centre of violent controversy, but the scientific dust has long since settled, and today we can see even his famous clash with the Inquisition in something like its proper perspective.
Not the Inquisition of Seville, nor the German Vehmgericht, nor the secret societies of Italy, were ever able to put a more formidable machinery in motion than that which cast a cloud over the state of Utah.