List of people executed in the Papal States

Giovanni Battista Bugatti, executioner of the Papal States between 1796 and 1861, carried out 516 executions.

This is a list of people executed in the Papal States under the government of the Popes or during the 1810–1819 decade of French rule. Although capital punishment in Vatican City was legal from 1929 to 1969, no executions took place in that time. This list does not include people executed by other authorities of the Roman Catholic Church or those executed by Inquisitions other than the Roman Inquisition, or those killed in wars involving the Papal States, or those killed extrajudicially.

Most executions were related to the punishment of civil crimes committed within the Papal States, with the condemned convicted within the civil courts of the Papal States; for example, in 1585, Pope Sixtus V initiated a "zero tolerance" crackdown on crime, which according to legend resulted in more severed heads collected on the Castel Sant'Angelo bridge than melons in the Roman markets.[1] The best records are from the tenure of Giovanni Battista Bugatti, the executioner of the Papal States between March 22, 1796 and August 17, 1861, who recorded the name of the condemned, the crime, and the location of the execution for each of the 516 "justices" he performed for the governments, papal or French.[1] Bugatti's list ends: "So ends the long list of Bugatti. May that of his successor be shorter".[2]

Before 1816, the most common methods of execution were the axe and noose (with burning at the stake used in high profile instances); after 1816, the guillotine (installed by the French during their control of Rome) became the norm.[1] However, after 1816, two other methods—the mazzatello (crushing of the head with a large mallet, followed by a cutting of the throat) and drawing and quartering (sometimes, but not always, after a hanging)—continued to be used for crimes that were considered "especially loathsome".[1]

The execution sites of choice were the Ponte Sant'Angelo, the bridge in front of the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Piazza del Popolo, and Via dei Cerchi near the Piazza della Bocca della Verita.[1] Papal law prescribed a payment of only three cents of the Roman lira per execution for the executioner to "mark the vileness of his work" but did not prohibit the free lodging, tax concessions, and large pension awarded to Bugatti.[1]

The date in parentheses is the date of the execution.

List of people executed by the Holy See

12th century

Arnold of Brescia burned by papal guards

13th century

14th century

15th century

Execution of Girolamo Savonarola in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence.

Note: Girolamo Savonarola, Domenico da Pescia and Fra Silvestro executed in Florence (May 23, 1498) were condemned by a Florentine court. Similarly, Pietro Bernardino, a follower of Savonarola, was condemned and executed at Mirandola (1502).

16th century

Monument to Giordano Bruno in the place of his execution in the Campo de' Fiori

17th century

18th century

19th century

Giovanni Battista Bugatti pictured offering snuff to a condemned prisoner
Note: Executions between 1798 and 1815 (Congress of Vienna), executions in papal Rome were to some degree controlled by the French authorities.[1]

1800–1810

1810–1819

The following executions were carried out by beheading under French rule.

Under Restored Pontifical Governance:

1820–1829

1830–1839

1840–1849

1850–1859

1860–1870

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Allen, John L., Jr. 2001, September 14. "He executed justice – papal execution Giovanni Battista Bugatti's life and work". National Catholic Reporter.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Executed Today. "Papal States".
  3. ↑ In Italian, it is death by mazzuolatura
  4. ↑ A papal silver coin, first struck during the 16th century under Pope Paul III and named after him.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 An exemplary death or "morte esemplare" refers to an admonitory execution performed in order to set an example
  6. ↑ Commander of the Customs Officers' garrison
  7. ↑ Carabinieri rank corresponding to a sergeant in the army

References

External links

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