Francesco Calcagno
Encyclopedia
Francesco Calcagno was a young Franciscan
friar
famously executed for blasphemy
and sodomy
by the Venetian
Inquisition
.
friar
from Brescia
, was interrogated in Brescia on 15 July 1550 and executed in Venice
on 23 December 1550, after an investigation by the Holy Office of the Venetian
Inquisition
relating to the offenses of atheistic
blasphemy
and sodomy
.
A witness familiar with Calcagno testified that the Franciscan slept with a boy almost every night, believed that Jesus engaged in sodomy with St. John, and denied the existence of God
and Paradise
, as well as the immortality of the human soul.
Calcagno admitted his guilt and mentioned that he had once talked to a certain Mr. Lauro di Glisenti da Vestone, an atheist who "said he didn't believe in anything, only what you could see with your eyes," and replied "Well then you can believe or say anything you want about Christ no matter how bad, like that he kept Saint John as his boy." Calcagno also told the inquisitors that he had been influenced in his opinions by La cazzaria, a homoerotic 1530 dialogue
by Antonio Vignali that was discreetly (but widely) circulated at the time.
The laicized friar maintained his rebellious attitude, continuing to parody the Catholic Church and its beliefs and celebrating Mass
in spite of being forbidden from doing so.
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
famously executed for blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
by the Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
.
Calcagno and the Venetian Inquisition
Calcagno, a twenty-two-year-old FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
from Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, was interrogated in Brescia on 15 July 1550 and executed in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on 23 December 1550, after an investigation by the Holy Office of the Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
relating to the offenses of atheistic
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
.
A witness familiar with Calcagno testified that the Franciscan slept with a boy almost every night, believed that Jesus engaged in sodomy with St. John, and denied the existence of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and Paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
, as well as the immortality of the human soul.
Calcagno admitted his guilt and mentioned that he had once talked to a certain Mr. Lauro di Glisenti da Vestone, an atheist who "said he didn't believe in anything, only what you could see with your eyes," and replied "Well then you can believe or say anything you want about Christ no matter how bad, like that he kept Saint John as his boy." Calcagno also told the inquisitors that he had been influenced in his opinions by La cazzaria, a homoerotic 1530 dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
by Antonio Vignali that was discreetly (but widely) circulated at the time.
The laicized friar maintained his rebellious attitude, continuing to parody the Catholic Church and its beliefs and celebrating Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in spite of being forbidden from doing so.
Further reading
- Dall'Orto, Giovanni. "'Adora piu presto un bell puto, Che demendio': il processo a un libertino omosessuale: Francesco Calcagno (1550)". Sodoma 5 (Spring - Summer 1993), pp. 43-55.