Abstract
The Reserved Fund of the National Library of Mexico safekeeps several valuable 16th Century exemplars written by the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. In this article, the author refers to the 1538 edition commented by Alejandro Vellutello Il Petrarca con l'espositione d'Alessandro Vellutello, censored by the Inquisition in 1585 for containing four sonnets which discredit the Catholic Church and the Pope. These "Babylonic" sonnets were translated to Spanish by doctor José Pascual Buxó, and they are: sonnets number 114 ("De l'empia Babilonia ond' é fuggita..."), number 136 ("Fiamma dal ciel su le tue treccie piova... "), number 137 ("L'avara Babilonia a colmo il sacco..."), and number 138 ("Fontana di dolore, albergo d'ira..."). In these four sonnets Petrarca flogs the excess and vices of the Catholic Church in the papal court of Avignon.