| Giovanni Battista Bugatti | |
|---|---|
 Bugatti (left) offering snuff to a condemned prisoner before killing him. (19th-century image). | |
| Born | (1779-03-06)6 March 1779 Senigallia, Marche, Papal States |
| Died | 18 June 1869(1869-06-18) (aged 90) Rome, Lazio, Papal States |
| Title | Official Executioner for the Papal States |
| Term | 22 March 1796 – 17 August 1864 (68 years, 148 days) |
Giovanni Battista Bugatti (1779–1869) was the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1864. He was the longest-serving executioner in the States and was nicknamed Mastro Titta, a Roman corruption of maestro di giustizia, or master of justice. At the age of 85 he was retired by Pope Pius IX with a monthly pension of 30 scudi.
Biography
Bugatti's career in charge of executions began when he was 17 years old, on 22 March 1796, and lasted until 1864.
One of his executions, on 8 March 1845, was described by Charles Dickens in Pictures from Italy (1846).
References
- Allen, John L., Jr. "He executed justice – papal execution Giovanni Battista Bugatti's life and work" (National Catholic Reporter, 14 September 2001).
External links
- He executed justice. Retrieved 11 April 2005
- Mastro Titta. Retrieved 14 July 2005.
- Passage from Pictures From Italy at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 December 2007). Retrieved 14 July 2005.
- When Mastro Titta Crossed the Bridge