The "Lincean Code"

ACQUASPARTA – An authentic "Lincean Code" lies engraved in the travertine stones of Piazza Cesi in Acquasparta.

Certainly more genuine than its (almost) namesake from Dan Brown's bestseller, this cipher consists of twelve peculiar symbols resembling constellation signs, meant to be read from right to left—opposite to the normal direction of writing. To decipher them, one needs the Lincean alphabet, created in 1603 and currently preserved in the archives of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome.

Once decoded, the symbols form the Latin phrase: "Sagacius ista", meaning "sharper than this"—referring to the lynx, a feline renowned for its remarkably acute vision. They convey the aspiration for knowledge and understanding that animated four young friends at the dawn of the seventeenth century. Their aim was to possess senses sharper than those of a lynx.

The Prince of the Lincei

On August 17, 1603, Federico Cesi, the twenty-year-old son of the Duke of Acquasparta and the noblewoman Olimpia Orsini of Todi, gathered his companions Francesco Stelluti (a jurist and man of letters from Fabriano), Anastasio De Filiis (a scholar from Terni passionate about astronomy and skilled in constructing mechanical devices), and Johannes van Heeck (a brilliant Dutch physician who graduated from the University of Perugia) at his residence on via della Maschera d'Oro in Rome. Together they sealed a pact that would immortalize their endeavors.

They founded the Accademia dei Lincei, the world's oldest scientific organization—today Italy's premier intellectual institution and scientific and cultural advisor to the President of the Republic. The four proclaimed themselves "disciples of nature, aiming to admire its wonders and investigate its causes," adopting the lynx as their emblem with the motto now commemorated in Acquasparta's square.

The ideological essence of their fellowship was outlined in an extensive programmatic statute, the Lynceographum. During the inaugural ceremony on December 25th of that same year, Federico—elected perpetual Princeps lynceorum—presented each "brother" with a golden necklace bearing a pendant, later replaced by a ring with a rectangular emerald engraved with a lynx. This is the Lincean ring, of which only wax seal impressions remain on academic documents today.

Cryptography and Pseudonyms in the Name of Science

In a century when superstitions and prejudices threatened to stifle the dawn of experimental research—the foundation of modern science—the meetings of these four friends faced opposition from the Duke of Acquasparta, who eventually reported van Heeck to the Holy Office on suspicion of heresy. Forced to scatter, the young scholars decided to exploit the symbolism and allegories characteristic of alchemy in service of science. They invented their code, composed of signs similar to those common in esoteric symbolism, and used it for correspondence and drafting documents.

Federico moved to Acquasparta, to the family palace, from where he maintained extensive correspondence with his associates using code names agreed upon beforehand, each reflecting their individual inclinations: the prince was Coelivagus (sky-wanderer), for his passion for the heavens and stars; Stelluti was Tardigradus (slow-stepper), for his reflective nature; De Filiis was Eclipsatus (eclipsed), for his aptitude in studying planetary phenomena; and van Heeck was Illuminatus (enlightened), the most creative and brilliant of the four.

Among the voluminous correspondence that has survived to our day, we find curious anecdotes, such as van Heeck's adventure in Prague: attacked by brigands, he was compelled to swallow his Lincean ring to prevent it from falling into the bandits' hands.

Several years passed. Relations between Federico and his father regained some harmony, van Heeck was finally able to return to Italy, and the Academy welcomed new distinguished members, including Giovambattista della Porta, the seventy-five-year-old Neapolitan magus-scientist—an emblem of the transitional phase between esoteric culture and experimental science.

Galilei: The Member Who Made the Difference

On April 25, 1611, the Academy had the honor of welcoming forty-seven-year-old Galileo Galilei among its members. From then on, he would sign his masterworks by adding the epithet "Lincean" to his name. This marked the beginning of a deep and sincere friendship between the scientist and young Federico, and a turning point in the Academy's intellectual trajectory. It would abandon the magical-esoteric aspect that had accompanied it in its early years to immerse itself in the revolutionary perspective of the great Pisan scientist, stimulating him in his research.

Federico hosted Galileo in Acquasparta in April 1624. He accompanied him to the Marmore Falls and by boat on Lake Piediluco. During the excursion, Galileo illustrated to his friends the principle of relative motion of bodies, tossing into the air the keys to Francesco Stelluti's room from the boat—risking their loss in the water, as the Fabriano academician himself recounts in his captivating account of that unforgettable day.

Other documents depict Federico and Galileo observing the stars with Galileo's new invention—the telescope—through the arches of the observatory at Palazzo Cesi, and Francesco, Anastasio, and Johannes spending entire days in the palace laboratory-rooms experimenting with the occhialino (prototype of today's microscope, renamed by the Lincei themselves), another Galilean instrument gifted to the academy by the great scientist.

The Stone Circles and Fountain of Piazza Cesi

It is to pay homage to the splendid adventure of these young friends, and to commemorate one of the symbolic places of humanity's love for knowledge, that today in the ornamental stones of Piazza Cesi, in addition to the "Lincean Code," strange names are carved: Coelivagus, Tardigradus, Eclipsatus, and Illuminatus, inscribed within four large travertine circles that seem to orbit—like as many planets—around a fifth, larger circle dedicated to Galilei. From this central circle flows a fountain, symbolizing the knowledge this scientist has gifted us.

Daniela Querci