In the judicial system of the Republic of Venice, that of the ''Esecutori contro la bestemmia'' ("Executors against the Blasphemy") (or ''Difensori in foro secolare delle leggi di Santa Chiesa e Correttori della negligenza delle medesime'', in English: "Defenders in the civil court of the laws of the Holy Church and Correctors of the negligence of said laws") was a magistracy, with competence in the city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

on crimes against religion and morality.

History and functions

Founded in 1537, the magistracy had authority over the crimes of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

profanation Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

defloration Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

of virgins promised in marriage, procuring, publication of forbidden books, etc. By virtue of this power, this magistracy supervised taverns and casinos and appointed the district managers (two for each district, then four starting from 1583), officers responsible for reporting illegal and seditious actions and for registering foreigners present in the city. It seems that the custom of uttering impiety was deeply rooted in the population of Venice, so much so that one of its

Doges A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

stated:

Bibliography

* Andrea Da Mosto, ''L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia'', Roma, Biblioteca d'Arte editrice, 1937. * Fabio Mutinelli, ''Lessico Veneto'', Venezia, tipografia Giambattista Andreola, 1852.

References

{{Republic of Venice topics Government of the Republic of Venice History of Venice 16th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice