Animo carcerato : Inquisizione, detenzione e graffiti a Palermo nel secolo XVII

The graffiti left by the prisoners of the Spanish Inquisition inside the cells of Palazzo Chiaromonte's (Steri) historical complex represent one of the most interesting examples of wall writing in European Modern age. Through the analysis of the writings and the drawings on the cells' walls and studying the documentation in Madrid's National Archive, this essay aims to resume the reflection on mechanisms and implications of inquisitorial repression. It purposes to promote more general considerations about the objectives and the of the prison dimension in the activity of the Holy Office and on the "social" use of the walls as writing support. Finally, it also wishes to offer an interpretation of the role of the images drawn in fostering the devotion, in signalising attitudes of substantial consensus or, on the contrary, of resistance to the Inquisition's judicial activity.