Italian priest, writer, and archivist. His principal surviving works deal with the Roman Catholic Church. Several Papal tombs that were destroyed during the rebuilding of Saint Peter's basilica are only known through illustrations by Grimaldi, the basilica's notary. His drawings and descriptions have provided scholars ever since with some of the most detailed information known about the early Christian basilica. Grimaldi was also instrumental in creating a type of museum in the crypt under the new St. Peter's, known as the Vatican grottoes, consisting of painted views of the old church, as well as artifacts from its many altars and chapels. Grimaldi is also notable for saving Pope Urban VI's remains from being discarded in 1606 and his sarcophagus used for a water trough. //