In April 1624 Galileo visited Rome to congratulate his friend Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who had been elected Pope Urban VIII. During his two-month stay in Rome, the two of them – as Galileo himself testifies – had ‘six long meetings’.

But nothing of what they discussed is known to us. Even for someone like Galileo – already the most famous astronomer in Europe – to meet the Pope so many times in the course of a few weeks is remarkable.

The Pope of Galileo is a fictional version of what might have been discussed during their meetings. However, the references to events, places and people are historically accurate.