Caravaggio Omicida?

28/11/2018 Non fu omicidio: Caravaggio venne provocato.
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Non fu omicidio: Caravaggio venne

provocato. La risposta ad un articolo del
Burlington Magazine
Home (/) / Bollettino (http://news-art.it/news/sub-0-bollettino-1.htm)
/ novità documentarie (http://news-art.it/news/lista-villanueva-1.htm)
 30/07/2016
Sebbene Caravaggio fosse coinvolto in più di un evento fatale, non è

comunque corretto de nirlo assassino, e quindi colpevole di omicidio
colposo,

http://news-art.it/news/non-fu-omicidio--caravaggio-venne-provocato--la-risposta-ad.htm 1/15
28/11/2018 Non fu omicidio: Caravaggio venne provocato. La risposta ad
come lo descrive Keith Sciberras nel suo articolo “ Caravaggio obbediente” nel numero di
giugno del “Burlington Magazine”. La rissa che avvenne il 28 Maggio del 1606 fu
evidentemente uno scontro che coinvolse più persone (almeno otto ) nella quale Caravaggio
ed il suo amico Petronio Troppa (già Capitano di Castello) furono entrambi colpiti a morte.
Uno dei testimoni disse che iniziò con uno schia o in faccia, un altro invece disse che
Tomassoni provocò il pittore “a far seco questione”, in seguito a un incidente occorso
qualche giorno prima in una partita a pallacorda. La presenza dei due cognati di Ranuccio (in
seguito banditi anche loro) introduce un elemento di onore nell’ intendere la motivazione di
questa rissa. Van Mander ha riferito (già prima del famoso incontro del Vicolo de
Pallacorda) che Caravaggio ‘gira da un gioco di palla all’altro, molto incline a duellare e a far
baru e’ e sappiamo da altre fonti che era un uomo molto di cile da avvicinare, un cervello
stravagantissimo che non andava d’accordo con gli altri, e cercava la compagnia di persone
che erano per natura “brigosi” come ci narra Baglione. Mario Minniti lo trovava troppo
‘torbido e contentioso’ a stargli vicino, e secondo il suo biografo Susinno egli si sposò
proprio per allontanarsene. Siccome dobbiamo riconoscere che un elemento fondamentale

della sua fama sia che Caravaggio abbia percepito il mondo in un modo diverso dagli altri,
non dobbiamo stupirci che lui trovasse di cile andare d’accordo con loro e che aveva
bisogno della “protezione” di persone come Prospero Orsi, Onorio Longhi e poi di
mecenati potenti come Del Monte e i Mattei. In ogni caso nella rissa con i Tomassoni c’era
più di uno di questi uomini brigosi, con una fama tutt’altro che linda in quel rione. Una tale
fatalità non sarebbe stata considerata omicidio colposo o assassinio, ma invece come
omicidio casuale, senza sanzione obbligatoria, e anche quando il pittore era colpito - a
distanza di un mese - da una bando capitale, la revoca ne era una eventualità del tutto
possibile. Un altro racconto dettagliato della rissa , che non è riportato nell’eccellente
volume curato dalla Macioce con tutti i documenti che riguardano Caravaggio, ma citato da
Francesco Tresoldi online nel 2009 nel gialli.it.lomicidio-di- Ranuccio-Tommasoni) è
quello di Francesco Maria Vialardi, in una lettera scritto a Ma eo Barberini il 3 Giugno del
1606.
“…ho inteso dire che il detto Michaelangelo in sulle 16 hore se ne passò quel giorno da casa
del medesimo Ranutio, con comitiva, et il detto Ranutio, vedutolo si armò di dosso , et lo
andò a rontare cacciando mano da solo, a solo. Restando ferito il pittore, in suo aiuto uscì
un tal Petronio Troppa gia Capitano di Castello, et dall’altra il Capitan Gio Francesco fratello
di esso Ranutio. Finalmente il Ranutio inciampò dov’hebbe a cadere, nel qual tempo, colto di
stoccata da Michelangelo, cascò in terra morto, sendo il Petronio restato malamente ferito
dal Capitan Gio Francesco…”

Sebbene non sia stato possibile identi care l’origine di questa lettera, tuttavia essa è
coerente con gli altri rapporti che confermano che Caravaggio non era l’aggressore, che
Tomassoni s dò il pittore e lo ferì in un’ incontro che era iniziato ‘a solo a solo”. Tomassoni
s’inciampò prendendo un passo indietro, e la stoccata di Caravaggio lo raggiunse con
conseguenze fatali. Ranuccio deve essere morto di perdita di sangue, ebbe appena tempo di
confessarsi prima di spirare. Constatando l’avvenuto inaspettato, il fratello di Tomassoni, il
Capitano Giovan Francesco, ferì gravemente Caravaggio e lasciò il suo compagno Petronio
Troppa per morto. Gli altri racconti (vedi S. Corradini, Caravaggio, materiali per un
processo, Roma 1993, p.70-72) mettono in evidenza che l’artista fu provocato
e lui stesso ‘restò su la testa mortalmente ferito’ . Mentre la località dell’ incontro è stata
sempre associata alla Via di Pallacorda e alla partita ivi giocata, il Vialardi nella lettera dice
che la rissa avvenne presso la casa di Ranuccio, che in verità si trovava vicino al Pantheon,
mentre altri riportano che la morte avvenne presso la Scrofa , ed è plausibile che trovò la
ne da quelle parti, visto anche che fu sepolto al Pantheon, allora la chiesa di Santa Maria
ad Martyres, la sua parrocchia. Maggiori dettagli su questa rissa sono stati pubblicati
recentemente da Sandro Corradini , ne ‘L’incidente della pallacorda: un omicidio “
preterintenzionale”? in Una vita per la storia dell' arte, Scritti in memoria di Maurizio Marini,
ed Pietro di Loreto, Roma, 2015, p. 123-31. La de nizione dei quattro fratelli di Tomassoni
come “ giovani bulli” del rione è evidente dal libro di Luigi G. De Anna , Michelangelo Merisi
Caravaggio e l Ordine di Malta, ed. La Rondine, Università DI Turku-Finlandia,2011, ed in un
più recente articolo dello stesso autore, I fratelli Tomassoni, i veri persecutori di

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in Studi di storia medievale per Giovanni Cherubini,ed.
D. Balestracci , Siena 2012, vol.I, p. 519-531). L’ articolo di R. Bassani, L’omicidio di Ranuccio

Tomassoni per mano di Michelangelo da Caravaggio, in Rivista storica del Lazio,I,
1993,n.1,pag.87.111), ed il libro di F. Bellini - R. Bassani, Caravaggio Assassino (1994) sono
stati importanti per la valutazione del contesto in cui Caravaggio si ritrovò in Campo Marzio
, essendosi da poco trasferito in vicolo San Biagio-
Giovan Francesco Tomassoni era stato nominato un anno prima capo Rione e questi
autori hanno ampiamente dimostrato che comandava una gang per difendere soprattutto i
propri interessi. I Tomassoni , gli di un u ciale di alto grado militare di Terni, furono non
solo abili a trattenere
Petronio Troppa dopo la rissa (Gian Francesco abitava proprio ‘'in una casa dove sono li
pregioni..,’) ma anche ad assicurarsi a distanza di un mese dopo l’avvenuto, la messa al
bando dell’amico di Caravaggio, Onorio Longhi, al quale non fu permesso di tornare a Roma
no al 1611, e ad ottenere il bando capitale del pittore in absentia. La loro permanenza nel
quartiere non ostacolava il bullismo, in e etti la natura del loro ruolo era proteggere le
cortigiane con nate li per legge, e i loro agganci non solo assicuravano che Caravaggio
sarebbe stato soggetto a una sentenza capitale ma che non avrebbe mai più avuto una vita
tranquilla.

Come il Prof. De Anna riconobbe, non solo nel continente, ma in Inghilterra c’erano delle
leggi che riconoscevano questo genere di avvenuto come chance medley ,anche quando era
il risultato di un duello, ad esempio nel 1765 il quinto Lord Byron uccise suo cugino William
Chaworth (che sopravvisse tanto almeno per descrivere il loro duello in una stanza chiusa
come uno “ sfortunato incidente”). Lord Byron fu ritenuto colpevole solo di omicidio casuale
(manslaughter) e rilasciato perché esisteva una radicata tradizione in Inghilterra riguardo
alla questa versione di ‘omicidio derivante da una lite improvvisa o una lotta’ e ciò era
riconosciuto anche dal Codice Penale dove l’omicidio in rissa viene distinto doloso semplice.
Piuttosto che de nire Caravaggio un assassino, colpevole di omicidio colposo, è tempo di

ri ettere su come lui vedeva il mondo diversamente, perché il cambio di percezione è stata
la sua maggiore eredità. Dei fratelli Tomassoni il lenone Ranuccio era quello che non aveva
maneggiato armi né avuto esperienze militari, mentre Francesco era un soldato con lunga
esperienza che si scagliò contro l artista dopo che questi aveva inferto il colpo al fratello. Fu
per puro caso che fosse Ranuccio a ricevere il colpo mortale, mentre la ferita quasi mortale
al suo oppositore, il compagno di
Caravaggio, Petronio Troppa, (come quella sostenuta dallo stesso artista) fù tale che non
potè fuggire. Sandro Corradini scopri documenti che mostrano che la vedova di Ranuccio,
Lavinia Giugoli, lasciò quasi subito la loro glia di 3 anni alle cure di Cesare Pontoni, un
avvocato di Camerino amico di Ranuccio, il quale aveva sempre mostrato “ amore e
benevolenza” verso la bambina, mentre la madre, otto giorni dopo la morte del marito,
prendeva in considerazione un nuovo matrimonio. I suoi fratelli Ignazio e Federico
avevano partecipato alla rissa e furono banditi allo stesso tempo di Caravaggio ( il 17 Luglio
del 1606 ). Tutto ciò ci fa considerare come ci potrebbe essere stato un motivo d’onore della
giovane moglie di Ranuccio la causa che potè condurre alla rissa cosi come una partita a
palla.

E’ ancora da rimarcare quanto i cavalieri di Malta fossero ansiosi di non perdere l’artista
qualora lui fosse arrivato nell’isola, il che ci dice ampiamente delle qualità evidenti di
Caravaggio, mentre gli agganci che i Tomassoni avevano in alto loco assicurarono che egli
non avrebbe più dormito sonni tranquilli. Non furono le autorità di Malta e neppure quelle
di Roma ad occuparsi del suo perdono, ma la vendetta di quei malviventi. Quasi un secolo fa
lo psicologo Mariano Luigi Patrizi scrisse un volume intitolato Il Caravaggio. Un pittore
criminale. Ricostruzione psicologica e la nuova critica d’arte (1921) senza in verità esplorare
gli aspetti psicologici del caso, ma semplicemente perpetuando il mito di un uomo violento,
che é diventato quasi una caricatura. Senza dubbio noi non ci avviciniamo a una
comprensione del di cile carattere di Caravaggio se continuiamo a vederlo sotto il pro lo
negativo che questa gente inevitabilmente sottolineava per motivi personali.
ENGLISH VERSION
Although Caravaggio was involved probably more than once in disturbances that led to
death, it is perhaps unfair to characterise him as a murderer, as Keith Sciberras describes
him in his article 'Caravaggio 'obbediente' in the June Burlington Magazine. The brawl that
occurred on the 28th May 1606 was evidently an a ray that involved several people (as
many as eight), in which Caravaggio and his friend Petronio Troppa (formerly Capitano di
Castello) were injured, both almost fatally. One of the eyewitnesses said that it started with
a slap on the face, another that Tomassoni provoked the painter 'a far seco questione', and
this followed an incident at a game of tennis a couple of days before. The presence of
Ranuccio's brothers-in-law (also banished as a result) introduces an element of honour to
the a ray. Van Mander reported (from earlier than the famous encounter in the Vicolo di
Pallacorda) that Caravaggio went from one ball game to the next, very ready to duel and get
into brawls, but we know from other third party accounts that he was very di cult to
befriend, a cervello stravagantissimo who did not get on well with other people, and sought
out the company by nature 'brigosi' as Baglione tells us. Mario Minniti found him too
torbido and contentioso to be with, and according to his biographer Susinno married
in order to get away from his friend. Since we can see that one of his principal claims to
fame was that he saw things di erently from other people, we should not be surprised that
he found it di cult to get on with them and that he needed 'protection' by people like
Prospero Orsi, Onorio Longhi, and then powerful patrons like Del Monte and the Mattei. In
any case the Tomassoni brawl was with more than one of these huomini brigosi, with a less
than perfect reputation in the neighbourhood. Such a fatality would not have been regarded
as an omicidio colposo or murder, but could well have been seen as an omicidio casuale,
which did not necessarily result in sanction, so his eventual pardon was quite realistic,
despite the bando capitale that was published against him (a month after the event).
Another detailed account of the a ray, one that is not featured in Macioce's excellent

compilation of the documents relating to Caravaggio (as Francesco Tresoldi wrote online in
2009 as comment to gialli.it.lomicidio-di-ranuccio-tommasoni) is that of Francesco Maria
Vialardi, who apparently reported on 3 June 1606 to Ma eo Barberini,


Although it has not been possible so far possible to identify the source of this letter, it is
consistent with the other reports and con rms that Caravaggio was not the aggressor, that
Tomassoni challenged the painter, and wounded him. Tomassoni tripped taking a step
backwards, when Caravaggio's sword thrust actually reached his opponent, with fatal
consequences, Ranuccio must have bled to death, he had barely time to confess his sins
before expiring. Seeing this unexpected injury Tomassoni's brother Captain Gio: Francesco
then badly wounded Caravaggio and left his supporter Petronio for dead. While the cause
of the encounter has always been associated with the Via di Pallacorda and the ball-
game that was played there, the Vialardi letter says that the a ray took place at
Ranuccio's house 'da casa del medesimo Ranutio', which was actually by the
Pantheon; other accounts speak of his death 'alla Scrofa'; his parish was evidently
that of the Pantheon, where he was buried. The other accounts (see S. Corradini,
Caravaggio, materiali per un processo Roma 1993, p. 70-72) make it abundantly clear that
the artist was provoked, and he himself 'restò su la testa mortalmente ferito'. More details
of the a ray were in fact published recently by Mgr. Sandro Corradini, in 'L'incidente della
pallacorda: un omicidio "preterintenzionale" ? Nuova luce sulla rissa tra Caravaggio e
Ranuccio Tomassoni' in Una vita per la storia dell' arte, Scritti in memoria di Maurizio Marini,
ed Pietro di Loreto, Rome, 2015, p. 123-31.The characterisation of the four Tomassoni
brothers as the bully boys of the neighbourhood is also quite evident from Luigi G. De
Anna's book (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio e l'Ordine di Malta, ed La Rondine,
University of Turku - Finland, 2011) , and a more recent article by the same author 'I fratelli
Tomassoni, i veri persecutori di Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio' (Studi di storia
medievale per Giovanni Cherubini, ed. D Balestracci et al., Siena 2012, v. I, p. 519-531). R.
Bassani's article (L'omicidio di Ranuccio Tomassoni per mano di Michelangelo da
Caravaggio', in Rivista storica del Lazio, I, 1993, n. 1, p. 87-111), and his and F. Bellini's book

Caravaggio Assassino (1994) were important steps in this evaluation of the milieu in which
Caravaggio found himself in the Campo Marzio, where he had recently taken up residence in
the Vicolo San Biagio. Gio: Francesco' Tomassoni had been named a year earlier capo Rione,
and these authors have amply demonstrated that their gang were used to enforcing their
interests. The Tomassonis, sons of a high ranking military o cer from Terni, were not only
able to take into custody Petronio Troppa after the a ray but also to secure, a month later,
the banishment of Caravaggio's other supporter Onorio Longhi, who did not get it lifted to
return to Rome until 1611, and the bando capitale on the painter in absentia. Their
authority in the rione did not stand in the way of such bullying, indeed this was the nature of
their role as pimps in a quarter of Rome in which the cortigiane were con ned by statute,
and their connections ensured that not only would Caravaggio be subject to a capital
sentence, but also that he would never again have a tranquil existence.

As Prof De Anna recognised, not only on the continent, but in England there were laws that
identi ed this kind of event as one of chance medley, even when it was the result of a duel,
like when in 1765 the 5th Lord Byron killed his cousin William Chaworth (who survived long
enough to describe their duel in a closed room as an 'unfortunate accident'). Lord Byron was
found guilty only of manslaughter and released, for there was as strong a tradition of this
version of 'homicide arising from a sudden quarrel or ght' in England as there was under
Roman law. Given the documentation it is fanciful to assume that this was a formal duel or,
as some have suggested, that Caravaggio was seeking to castrate his opponent when he
stabbed him in the groin. It does seem as though Caravaggio's nature was apprehensive and
he found it hard to get through a day without some sort of challenge, prompting people to
attack him just as he seems to have attacked others, for motives that still remain a mystery.
Rather than characterising him as a murderer, it is time to re ect on how he saw the world
di erently, because this change of perception was his chief legacy. Of the Tomassoni
brothers the pimp Ranuccio was one who had not borne arms or had military experience,
while Giovanni Francesco was a very experienced soldier who lashed out at the artist after
he had scored the hit on his brother. It was evidently mere chance that it was Ranuccio who
got the mortal blow, while the near fatal wounds that his other opponent, Caravaggio's
supporter, Petronio Troppa, (as well as those the artist himself sustained) meant that he
could not get away from the scene. Mgr Sandro Corradini uncovered documents showing
that Ranuccio's widow Lavinia Giugoli abandoned their three-year old daughter to the care
of one Cesare Pontoni, a lawyer friend of Ranuccio's from Camerino, who had always shown
'no little love and benevolence' towards the child, while the mother was considering (eight
days after her husband's death) getting married again. Her brothers Ignazio and Federico
had also participated in the a ray, and were banished at the same time as Caravaggio (17th

July 1606), so it does look as though the honour of Ranuccio's young wife could have
prompted the a ray as much as a di erence over a ball-game.

It is still remarkable that the Knights of Malta were so anxious not to lose the painter when
he eventually arrived in the island, it speaks volumes of Caravaggio's manifest talents, while
the connections the Tomassoni had in high places had meant that he could never again
sleep quietly. It was not the authorities in Malta, or even in Rome that stood in the way of his
pardon, but the vendetta of these malviventi. Nearly a century ago the psychologIst
Mariano Luigi Patrizi described Caravaggio as Un pittore criminale - ricostruzione
psicologica (1921) without actually exploring the psychological aspects of his case, merely
perpetuating the myth of a violent man, which has become almost a caricature.We do not
get any closer to understanding the di cult character that Caravaggio undoubtedly
possessed by continuing the negative pro le that these people inevitably underscored, for
their own purposes.

Clovis Whit eld

Although Caravaggio was involved probably more than once in disturbances that led to
death, it is perhaps unfair to characterise him as a murderer, as Keith Sciberras describes
him in his article 'Caravaggio 'obbediente' in the June Burlington Magazine. The brawl that
occurred on the 28th May 1606 was evidently an a ray that involved several people (as
many as eight), in which Caravaggio and his friend Petronio Troppa (formerly Capitano di
Castello) were injured, both almost fatally. One of the eyewitnesses said that it started with
a slap on the face, another that Tomassoni provoked the painter 'a far seco questione', and
this followed an incident at a game of tennis a couple of days before. The presence of
Ranuccio's brothers-in-law (also banished as a result) introduces an element of honour to
the a ray. Van Mander reported (from earlier than the famous encounter in the Vicolo di
Pallacorda) that Caravaggio went from one ball game to the next, very ready to duel and get
into brawls, but we know from other third party accounts that he was very di cult to
befriend, a cervello stravagantissimo who did not get on well with other people, and sought
out the company by nature 'brigosi' as Baglione tells us. Mario Minniti found him too
torbido and contentioso to be with, and according to his biographer Susinno married
in order to get away from his friend. Since we can see that one of his principal claims to
fame was that he saw things di erently from other people, we should not be surprised that
he found it di cult to get on with them and that he needed 'protection' by people like
Prospero Orsi, Onorio Longhi, and then powerful patrons like Del Monte and the Mattei. In
any case the Tomassoni brawl was with more than one of these huomini brigosi, with a less

than perfect reputation in the neighbourhood. Such a fatality would not have been regarded
as an omicidio colposo or murder, but could well have been seen as an omicidio casuale,
which did not necessarily result in sanction, so his eventual pardon was quite realistic,
despite the bando capitale that was published against him (a month after the event).
Another detailed account of the a ray, one that is not featured in Macioce's excellent
compilation of the documents relating to Caravaggio (as Francesco Tresoldi wrote online in
2009 as comment to gialli.it.lomicidio-di-ranuccio-tommasoni) is that of Francesco Maria
Vialardi, who apparently reported on 3 June 1606 to Ma eo Barberini,


Although it has not been possible so far possible to identify the source of this letter, it is
consistent with the other reports and con rms that Caravaggio was not the aggressor, that
Tomassoni challenged the painter, and wounded him. Tomassoni tripped taking a step
backwards, when Caravaggio's sword thrust actually reached his opponent, with fatal
consequences, Ranuccio must have bled to death, he had barely time to confess his sins
before expiring. Seeing this unexpected injury Tomassoni's brother Captain Gio: Francesco
then badly wounded Caravaggio and left his supporter Petronio for dead. While the cause
of the encounter has always been associated with the Via di Pallacorda and the ball-
game that was played there, the Vialardi letter says that the a ray took place at
Ranuccio's house 'da casa del medesimo Ranutio', which was actually by the
Pantheon; other accounts speak of his death 'alla Scrofa'; his parish was evidently
that of the Pantheon, where he was buried. The other accounts (see S. Corradini,
Caravaggio, materiali per un processo Roma 1993, p. 70-72) make it abundantly clear that
the artist was provoked, and he himself 'restò su la testa mortalmente ferito'. More details
of the a ray were in fact published recently by Mgr. Sandro Corradini, in 'L'incidente della
pallacorda: un omicidio "preterintenzionale" ? Nuova luce sulla rissa tra Caravaggio e
Ranuccio Tomassoni' in Una vita per la storia dell' arte, Scritti in memoria di Maurizio Marini,
ed Pietro di Loreto, Rome, 2015, p. 123-31.The characterisation of the four Tomassoni
brothers as the bully boys of the neighbourhood is also quite evident from Luigi G. De
Anna's book (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio e l'Ordine di Malta, ed La Rondine,

University of Turku - Finland, 2011) , and a more recent article by the same author 'I fratelli
Tomassoni, i veri persecutori di Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio' (Studi di storia
medievale per Giovanni Cherubini, ed. D Balestracci et al., Siena 2012, v. I, p. 519-531). R.
Bassani's article (L'omicidio di Ranuccio Tomassoni per mano di Michelangelo da
Caravaggio', in Rivista storica del Lazio, I, 1993, n. 1, p. 87-111), and his and F. Bellini's book
Caravaggio Assassino (1994) were important steps in this evaluation of the milieu in which
Caravaggio found himself in the Campo Marzio, where he had recently taken up residence in
the Vicolo San Biagio. Gio: Francesco' Tomassoni had been named a year earlier capo Rione,
and these authors have amply demonstrated that their gang were used to enforcing their
interests. The Tomassonis, sons of a high ranking military o cer from Terni, were not only
able to take into custody Petronio Troppa after the a ray but also to secure, a month later,
the banishment of Caravaggio's other supporter Onorio Longhi, who did not get it lifted to
return to Rome until 1611, and the bando capitale on the painter in absentia. Their
authority in the rione did not stand in the way of such bullying, indeed this was the nature of
their role as pimps in a quarter of Rome in which the cortigiane were con ned by statute,
and their connections ensured that not only would Caravaggio be subject to a capital
sentence, but also that he would never again have a tranquil existence.

As Prof De Anna recognised, not only on the continent, but in England there were laws that
identi ed this kind of event as one of chance medley, even when it was the result of a duel,
like when in 1765 the 5th Lord Byron killed his cousin William Chaworth (who survived long
enough to describe their duel in a closed room as an 'unfortunate accident'). Lord Byron was
found guilty only of manslaughter and released, for there was as strong a tradition of this
version of 'homicide arising from a sudden quarrel or ght' in England as there was under
Roman law. Given the documentation it is fanciful to assume that this was a formal duel or,
as some have suggested, that Caravaggio was seeking to castrate his opponent when he
stabbed him in the groin. It does seem as though Caravaggio's nature was apprehensive and
he found it hard to get through a day without some sort of challenge, prompting people to
attack him just as he seems to have attacked others, for motives that still remain a mystery.
Rather than characterising him as a murderer, it is time to re ect on how he saw the world
di erently, because this change of perception was his chief legacy. Of the Tomassoni
brothers the pimp Ranuccio was one who had not borne arms or had military experience,
while Giovanni Francesco was a very experienced soldier who lashed out at the artist after
he had scored the hit on his brother. It was evidently mere chance that it was Ranuccio who
got the mortal blow, while the near fatal wounds that his other opponent, Caravaggio's
supporter, Petronio Troppa, (as well as those the artist himself sustained) meant that he
could not get away from the scene. Mgr Sandro Corradini uncovered documents showing

that Ranuccio's widow Lavinia Giugoli abandoned their three-year old daughter to the care
of one Cesare Pontoni, a lawyer friend of Ranuccio's from Camerino, who had always shown
'no little love and benevolence' towards the child, while the mother was considering (eight
days after her husband's death) getting married again. Her brothers Ignazio and Federico
had also participated in the a ray, and were banished at the same time as Caravaggio (17th
July 1606), so it does look as though the honour of Ranuccio's young wife could have
prompted the a ray as much as a di erence over a ball-game.

It is still remarkable that the Knights of Malta were so anxious not to lose the painter when
he eventually arrived in the island, it speaks volumes of Caravaggio's manifest talents, while
the connections the Tomassoni had in high places had meant that he could never again
sleep quietly. It was not the authorities in Malta, or even in Rome that stood in the way of his
pardon, but the vendetta of these malviventi. Nearly a century ago the psychologIst
Mariano Luigi Patrizi described Caravaggio as Un pittore criminale - ricostruzione
psicologica (1921) without actually exploring the psychological aspects of his case, merely
perpetuating the myth of a violent man, which has become almost a caricature.We do not
get any closer to understanding the di cult character that Caravaggio undoubtedly
possessed by continuing the negative pro le that these people inevitably underscored, for
their own purposes.

Clovis Whit eld

v
30 / 7 / 2016 Clovis Whit eld
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28/11/2018 Non fu omicidio: Caravaggio venne provocato.

Non fu omicidio: Caravaggio venne

Sebbene Caravaggio fosse coinvolto in più di un evento fatale, non è

D. Balestracci , Siena 2012, vol.I, p. 519-531). L’ articolo di R. Bassani, L’omicidio di Ranuccio

Piuttosto che de nire Caravaggio un assassino, colpevole di omicidio colposo, è tempo di

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