And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13:15
"Giovanni Battista Bugatti (6 March 1779 – 18 June 1869) was the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1865, during which he carried out 516 executions under six popes and the French government before being succeeded by his assistant Vincenzo Balducci. The list of people he executed ranged from thieves to assassins using methods such as beating, beheading, or hanging.
He became an executioner at the age of 17, in 1796. Bugatti noted
On August 17, 1864, he was replaced by Vincenzo Balducci and Pope Pius IX granted him a pension, with a monthly pension of 30 scudi.
The nickname given to Bugatti was then extended to his successors: in Rome, the term “Mastro Titta” is synonymous with the executioner.
For particularly heinous offenses, or for those deemed to have committed sacrilege, the mallet (mazzola) was used, followed by a throat-cutting. Hanging was another frequently used method.
One of his most notorious tools, however, was the guillotine. Introduced to Rome during the Napoleonic era, Mastro Titta quickly adapted to its use, employing it for public spectacles that drew large crowds.
These executions were often carried out against the backdrops of Roman landmarks, such as Castel Sant'Angelo, the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo.
Despite his fearsome profession, Mastro Titta lived a seemingly ordinary life outside his gruesome duties, with his profession listed as umbrella painter.
He resided in the Borgo district of Rome, near the Vatican, on Vicolo del Campanile.
Mastro Titta was not permitted to cross the Tiber river at Ponte Sant'Angelo into the main part of the city unless it was for an execution.
Mastro Titta was a feared symbol of papal power and stern justice, reflecting a part of Roman life that both repelled and fascinated its citizens.
Charles Dickens who witnessed one of his executions in Rome's San Giovanni area on 8 March 1845.
Recounting the beheading in graphic detail, Dickens described the gruesome event as an "ugly, filthy, careless, sickening spectacle", after which the executioner "retreated to his lair" across the river.
Vincenzo Balducci, who became his assistant in 1850, continued his bloody mission until the fall of the Papal States in 1870.
The last papal executions in Rome were carried out on 24 November 1868 when revoluntionaries Giuseppe Monti and Gaetano Tognetti were beheaded in front of crowds on Via dei Cerchi at the Circus Maximus.
TheArchaeologist/WantedInRome
