Pietro Giannone

Born in Ischitella in 1676, Pietro Giannone studied law in Naples and built a reputation as a jurist and man of letters. He is best known for Istoria civile del regno di Napoli (1723), a sweeping history of the Kingdom of Naples that argued against excessive ecclesiastical power in civil life.

The book brought him immediate notoriety. Its sharp criticism of papal influence led to condemnation by church authorities, and Giannone spent much of his later life in exile, under pressure, or in confinement. He died in Turin in 1748 after years of imprisonment.

Today he is remembered as an important voice in Italian intellectual history: a writer who used history and law to defend the independence of the state from the Church. His work places him among the notable forerunners of the Italian Enlightenment.