Francesco Paolo Di Blasi (

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, 1753 or 1755 –

, 20 May 1795) was a Sicilian jurist, revolutionary and writer, known as an important advocate of the

Sicilian nationalism Sicilian nationalism, or Sicilianism, is a movement in the autonomous Italian region of Sicily, as well as the Sicilian diaspora, which seeks greater autonomy or outright independence from Italy, and/or promotes further inclusion of the Sicili ...

. Nephew of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbots Salvatore Maria and Giovanni Evangelista, Francesco Paolo Di Blasi was a lawyer influenced by

Illuminism The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

. In 1790 he was involved in the foundation of the Accademia Siciliana, an institution devoted to the protection of the

Sicilian language Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabro ...

. Fascinated by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, in 1795 Di Blasi was arrested and tried. Charged with

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

conspiracy, he was executed by decapitation in Palermo, at the "''Piano di Santa Teresa''" (current Piazza Indipendenza), on 20 May 1795. His matter is told by

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), '' Cadaveri Eccellen ...

's novel ''

The Council of Egypt ''The Council of Egypt'' ( it, Il consiglio d'Egitto) is a 2002 Italian drama film directed by Emidio Greco. It is based on the novel with the same name written by Leonardo Sciascia. It premiered at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival, in which i ...

'' (1963). His character plays an important role in the historical novel '' Calvello the Bastard'' by Luigi Natoli.

Works

* ''Dissertazione sopra l'egualità e ladisuguaglianza degli uomini in riguardo alla loro felicità'' (1778) * ''Saggio sopra la legislazione di Sicilia'' (1790) * ''Pragmaticae sanctiones Regni Siciliae, quas iussu Ferdinandi III Borbonii nunc primum ad fidem authenticorum exemplarium in regiis tabulariis existentium recensuit Fr. Paulusde Blasi'' (1791–93)

External links

DI BLASI, Francesco Paolo

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Blasi, Francesco Paolo Sicilian nationalists Writers from Sicily Jurists from Palermo Writers from Palermo People executed by the Kingdom of Sicily 1753 births 1795 deaths 18th-century jurists 18th-century Italian jurists People executed by decapitation