Did Shakespeare stay with the Jesuits in Rome?

Three signatures on pages of parchment bound in leather found in the archives at Rome's Venerable English College may be more evidence that William Shakespeare was a secret Catholic who spent his 'lost years' in Italy, according to the Times Online.

An exhibition at the Venerable English College has revealed cryptic names in its guest books for visiting pilgrims, suggesting that the playwright sought refuge among the Jesuits there.

'Arthurus Stratfordus Wigomniensis' signed the book in 1585, while 'Gulielmus Clerkue Stratfordiensis' arrived in 1589.  These visits would be at a time when Father Alfonso Agazzari SJ would have been warden.  The Jesuits were custodians of the English College from 1579 to 1773.

According to Fr Andrew Headon, vice-rector of the college and organiser of the exhibition, the names can be deciphered as '(King) Arthur's (compatriot) from Stratford (in the diocese) of Worcester' and 'William the Clerk from Stratford'.  A third entry in 1587, 'Shfordus Cestriensis', may stand for 'Sh(akespeare from Strat)ford (in the diocese) of Chester,' he said.

The entries fall within the playwright's 'missing years' between 1585, when he left Stratford abruptly, and 1592, when he began his career as playwright in London. 'There are several years which are unaccounted for in Shakespeare's life,' Fr Headon said, adding that it was very likely that the playwright had visited Rome and was a covert Catholic.

The 'Shakespeare' entries are being kept in the college's archive for security reasons but have been reproduced for the exhibition, which illustrates the history of the college from its origins as a medieval pilgrims' hospice to a refuge for persecuted Catholics during the Reformation.

 Times Online