Matteuccia de Francesco

Last updated

Matteuccia de Francesco (died 1428) was an alleged Italian witch and nun, known as the "Witch of Ripabianca" after the village where she lived.

Matteuccia was put on trial in Todi in 1428, accused of being a prostitute, having committed desecration with other women and of the selling of love potions since 1426. She confessed having sold medicine and of having flown to a tree in the shape of a fly on the back of a demon after having smeared herself with an ointment made of the blood of newborn children. She was judged guilty of sorcery and sentenced to be burned at the stake. [1] [2]

Her case was one of the earliest witch trials in Europe, and perhaps the first case where a witch is mentioned flying in the air.

Related Research Articles

The Roman Inquisition, formally Suprema Congregatio Sanctae Romanae et Universalis Inquisitionis, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of a wide array of crimes according to Catholic law and doctrine, relating to Catholic religious life or alternative religious or secular beliefs. It was established in 1542 by the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Paul III. In the period after the Medieval Inquisition, it was one of three different manifestations of the wider Catholic Inquisition, the other two being the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition.

Jacopone da Todi, O.F.M. was an Italian Franciscan friar from Umbria. He wrote several laude in the local vernacular. He was an early pioneer in Italian theatre, being one of the earliest scholars who dramatised Gospel subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Barbella</span> American convict (1868–1950)

Maria Barbella was an Italian-born American woman. Erroneously known as Maria Barberi at the time, she was the second woman sentenced to die in the electric chair. She was convicted of killing her lover in 1895, but the ruling was overturned in 1896 and she was freed. Her trial became a cause célèbre in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of San Domenico, Siena</span> Basilica church in Siena, Tuscany, Italy

The Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana, is a basilica church in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, one of the most important in the city. The basilica is an example of Cistercian Gothic style.

The Barbaro 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina belongs to the locale of the town of Platì. According to the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia, the Barbaro 'ndrina is one of the most powerful 'Ndrangheta clans. The clan also operates in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Piemonte and overseas in Australia, in particular in the Griffith, New South Wales area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine de' Ricci</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Catherine de' Ricci, OP, was an Italian Catholic nun in the Third Order of St. Dominic. She is believed to have had miraculous visions and corporeal encounters with Jesus Christ. She is also said to have spontaneously bled with the wounds of the crucified Christ. She is venerated for her mystic visions and is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church.

<i>Genoese Dragnet</i> 1952 Italian film

Genoese Dragnet is a 1952 Italian crime-melodrama film. The movie relates the story of Michele, a man accused of murdering a kidnapped girl and his fight to prove his innocence.

Ripabianca is a frazione of the comune of Deruta in the Province of Perugia, Umbria, central Italy. It stands at an elevation of 230 metres above sea level. At the time of the Istat census of 2001 it had 488 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Riina</span> Italian crime boss and member of the Sicilian Mafia

Salvatore Riina, called Totò, was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s with the assassinations of Antimafia Commission prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, resulting in widespread public outcry and a major crackdown by the authorities. He was also known by the nicknames la belva and il capo dei capi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Mario Pagano</span> Italian jurist (1748–1799)

Francesco Mario Pagano was an Italian jurist, author, thinker, and the founder of the Neapolitan school of law. He is regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. A moderate reformist, he is seen as a forerunner of the Italian unification.

Claudia Colla, was the ducal mistress of the sovereign Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma, by whom she was murdered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvestro Valeri</span> Italian painter (1814–1902)

Silvestro Valeri was an Italian painter and educator. He taught at Accademia di Belle Arti di Perugia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witches of Benevento</span> Medieval legend

The history or legend of the witches of Benevento is folklore dating from at least the 13th century. Its dissemination is one reason for the fame of this Samnite city. The popular belief—that Benevento would be the Italian witches' gathering place—has abundant implications, blurring the border between reality and imagination. Various writers, musicians, and artists have drawn inspiration from or referred to it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Carnelutti</span> Italian jurist and lawyer

Francesco Carnelutti was an Italian jurist and lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservatorio Santa Cecilia</span> State conservatory in Rome, Italy

The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circonvallazione massacre</span> Sicilian Mafia kills five in 1982 attack on Palermo ring road

The Circonvallazione massacre, in Italian Strage della Circonvallazione, is a Cosa Nostra attack that took place on June 16, 1982 on the Palermo ring road. The attack was directed against Catanese boss Alfio Ferlito, who was transferred from Enna to the Trapani jail, and died with the three escort carabinieri and the 22-year-old Giuseppe Di Lavore, the driver of the private company that had the transportation of prisoners, who had replaced his father. The mandators of this massacre were Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, in favor to Nitto Santapaola, who was in a year-long war with Ferlito for the predominance on the city of Catania territory.

De Francesco is an Italian surname. Notable people with this surname include:

The Mirandola witch trials took place in Mirandola in the Duchy of Mirandola between 1522 and 1525. It resulted in the death of ten people, who were burned alive at the stake for witchcraft on the square.

Francesco Forti is an Italian tennis player.

The Galatolo Mafia clan was a criminal family originating from the Acquasanta neighborhood of Palermo. They are one of the longest-running Mafia clans in the city, having held important positions throughout most of the 20th century and beyond and even coming to rule the entire Resuttana mandamento in the early 21st century.

References

  1. Peruzzi, Candida (1955). "Un Processo di Stregoneria a Todi Nel '400". Lares. 21 (1/2): 1–17. JSTOR   26239479 via JSTOR.
  2. Mammoli, Domenico (2021-02-15). "Processo alla strega Matteuccia di Francesco: 20 marzo 1428 / Domenico Mammoli". opac.sbn.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-22.