Prospero Farinacci

Prospero Farinacci.

Prospero Farinacci (30 October 1554 – 30 October 1618) was an Italian lawyer and judge, noted for his harsh sentencing.

Farinacci was born and died in Rome. Whilst he was a staunch prosecutor of sodomites, in 1595 he was himself accused of having repeatedly entertained sodomitic relations. He was excused of the crime by Pope Clement VIII, who famously made a pun on Farinacci's name (which alludes to "flour" in Italian) by claiming that "The flour is good, it's the bag that's bad."

In 1599 he unsuccessfully represented Beatrice Cenci and her family who were charged with the murder of her father Francesco Cenci.

Works

Responsa criminalia, 1606

• Praxis et theorica criminalis, 1594–1614.
• Responsa criminalia (in Latin). Vol. 1. Venice: Giorgio Varisco. 1606.
• Responsa criminalia. Vol. 2. Rome. 1615.
• Responsa criminalia. Vol. 3. Rome. 1620.

Further reading

• Prospero Farinacci at Encyclopædia Britannica online