Giovanni Battista Bugatti

Giovanni Battista Bugatti
Bugatti (left) offering snuff to a condemned prisoner before carrying out an execution. From a 19th-century wood.
Born(1779-03-06)6 March 1779
Senigallia, Marche, Papal States
Died18 June 1869(1869-06-18) (aged 90)
Rome, Lazio, Papal States
TitleOfficial Executioner for the Papal States
Term22 March 1796 – 17 August 1864
(68 years, 148 days)
Giovanni Battista Bugatti holding the head of an executed woman

Giovanni Battista Bugatti (1779–1869) was the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1864. He was the longest-serving executioner in the States and was nicknamed Mastro Titta, a Roman corruption of maestro di giustizia, or master of justice.[1] At the age of 85, he was retired by Pope Pius IX with a monthly pension of 30 scudi.

  1. ^ Allen, John L., Jr. "He executed justice – papal execution Giovanni Battista Bugatti's life and work" (National Catholic Reporter, 14 September 2001).