Cecco d'Ascoli and the Inquisition: Medieval Astrology and Hidden Teachings

The verses pronounced by Dante in the Divine Comedy in Canto XVI of Purgatory:

Thus we see that astrological positions, especially in relation to free will... However, Cecco d'Ascoli would undergo trial by the Inquisition, officially precisely for his astrological positions, and would be condemned to be burned in Florence itself in 1327 with one of the most mysterious and disconcerting sentences of the early Inquisition. Officially, Cecco d'Ascoli was condemned for his astrological theories and for this reason was sentenced to the stake with his books. However, once Cecco d'Ascoli died, his books were among the most copied and widespread works until the Counter-Reformation, as attested by the large number of manuscript codices that have come down to us regarding the Acerba. From a purely astrological point of view, finally, Cecco d'Ascoli's positions were not only not extremist, but even more moderate compared to those of authors later canonized by the Church like Albertus Magnus. Thorndike himself in the early years of the 20th century raises the question about the real reasons that led to the trial and killing of Cecco d'Ascoli. A possible solution to the enigma is proposed by Palamidessi, taking up a thesis partially introduced by Valli and Ricolfi, at the First Conference of Studies on Cecco d'Ascoli. Here Palamidessi expresses the opinion that after having clarified how his condemnation should not be attributed to his teaching and his practice as an astrologer, this "initiate and master" should be considered a bearer of "a new Christian vision of life" as overwhelmed by the movement that led to the destruction of the Templars. In the Templars, in fact, the Fedeli d'Amore converged, to which Cecco would have belonged. The poet therefore should be viewed "with another lens as an anticipator of new ideas that have indicated the way to dominate matter and the force of the Universe to create the New Man." To this message of Cecco d'Ascoli, therefore, should be attributed the meaning of the trial and his martyrdom. And this indeed seems to be the meaning communicated by Cecco d'Ascoli to Petrarch in one of his last sonnets when he probably already saw the fate of his imminent future taking shape. To Petrarch who appeals to him as "the great Ascolan who illuminates the world" and questions him about the near future, Cecco d'Ascoli makes it understood that he knows what his near future is and that he accepts it for love of Wisdom:

Indeed, on September 16, 1327, Cecco d'Ascoli was burned alive by the tribunal of the Inquisition in front of the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. He was led to publicly abjure in the Church of S. Croce, decorated in mourning on an elevated platform purposely erected in the presence of an innumerable people. There [...] the summary of the trial was read aloud, and at each article, being asked if what was alleged against him was true, he replied that he had said it, had taught it, and believed it. When the function ended, Cecco was sentenced to be burned alive with all the books composed by him.