The Business of the Roman Inquisition in the Early Modern Era

Germano Maifreda’s The Business of the Roman Inquisition re-evaluates the institution as a self-sustaining economic entity where financial incentives often dictated judicial actions, including targeting wealthy suspects for asset confiscation. Operating as a centralized, bureaucratic network established in 1542, the Inquisition depended on fines and property seizure to fund its operations across the Italian peninsula. For an in-depth exploration of this topic, consult the study The Business of the Roman Inquisition in the Early Modern Era .