Pietro Giannone was born on May 7, 1676 in Ischitella, Italy and died on March 17, 1748 in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1698 he graduated in law and wrote Istoria civile del regno di Napoli (1723; The Civil History of the Kingdom of Naples) which exposed conflicts with the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy. Soon, this book was put in the Index Libororum, which was the papal's register of prohibited books. Giannone was excommunicated and went to Vienna until 1734 when he received an allowance from the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. During that time period, Giannone worked on what would soon be his most important work: Il triregno, ossia del regno del cielo, e del papa, 3 vol. (“The Triple Crown, or the Reign of Heaven, Earth, and the Pope”). Giannone's view on the Catholic Church was straightforward: the only one able to promote civilization and the progress is the state while the church coincides with the evil and it's always the cause of obscurantism. Giannone left Vienna and moved to Venice, but then seeked refuge in Geneva in 1735. While he was visiting a village in Piedmont, he was kidnapped and imprisoned. He was incarcerated for the last 12 years of his life, and during that time period he wrote Autobiografia (Autobiography).
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The index of prohibited books |