Tommaso Crudeli (original) (raw)

December 21, 1702 - March 27, 1745Tommaso Baldasarre Crudeli was a Florentine free thinker who was imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition. He was a poet, lawyer, champion of free thought and is remembered as the first martyr of Universal Freemasonry. In 1736 a masonic lodge in Florence, Italy was investigated by the Roman Catholic Church. On June 25, 1737, the lodge was condemned by the Chief Inquisitor in Rome. On May 9, 1739, Tommaso Crudeli, a physician of the city, was taken into custody and questioned about his masonic affiliation. The questioning started on August 10, 1739, and he was tortured as they demanded from him the "secrets" of Freemasonry. He was imprisoned and not released until April, 1741. His health was ruined as a result of the experience. He died on January 27, 1745. Freemason Source: Alphonse Cerza, The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction, Virginia : Masonic Service Association, September, 1967.