With the wounds of Vivaldi and Paulo deemed uncritical, the two men are driven to Rome in the company of two officers. It is near midnight when they enter the Porto del Popolo, filled with carriages, masks, musicians, monks, and mountebanks celebrating in the midst of the Carnival festivities. As the coach reaches the prisons of the Inquisition, Vivaldi and Paulo notice walls of immense height, bolstered by massy bulwarks. There are no windows or grates, with only small towers to break up the monotony.

There is an eerie, deadly silence once the two men are brought into the building, where there are many dark, gloomy apartments barely illuminated by small lamps. They hear occasional groans while seeing men in long black robes crossing the apartments to other hallways. Vivaldi notices their looks of grave cruelty and ferocious impatience, puzzled to see that the frenzied wickedness that man prepares for man as a part of human nature.

In time, the chief officer descends the staircase and bids Vivaldi to follow him. As Paulo tries to follow Vivaldi, he is restrained by the guard and informed that he will be disposed of in a different way. Vivaldi tries in vain to console him.

Following the officer up a staircase, Vivaldi is brought to an inner apartment. He anticipates that the officers are likely preparing the instruments necessary to extort a confession from him. By proceeding in such a manner, he laments that the innocent are certain of suffering longer than the guilty because they have little to confess.

The offer uncovers Vivaldi’s head and bares his arms, leading him into a spacious chamber before shutting the door. There are two persons dressed in black and seated at a large table occupying the center of the room. As the inquisitor calls on Vivaldi to tell the truth and keep anything seen or heard in the apartment secret, Vivaldi hesitates to obey. After demanding his name, titles, and place of residence, the inquisitor poses questions to Vivaldi about the grounds of accusation before inquiring if he confesses its truth, which Vivaldi denies. When asked if he visited the church of Spirito Santo at Naples, Vivaldi answers that he refuses to reply without knowing the name of his accuser. The inquisitor denies him the satisfaction, claiming that the names of the informer and witnesses are always concealed from the accused.

Finally, when the inquisitor demands if he has any enemies, Vivaldi answers that he is hardly anyone’s enemy, only to have the inquisitor reply that given his lack of enemies, the accusation must have been brought by a respecter of truth. Vivaldi is shocked by the twisting of his words.