Francesco Paolo Di Blasi


Francesco Paolo Di Blasi was a Sicilian jurist, revolutionary and writer, known as an important advocate of the Sicilian nationalism.
Nephew of the Benedictine abbots Salvatore Maria and Giovanni Evangelista, Francesco Paolo Di Blasi was a lawyer influenced by Illuminism. In 1790 he was involved in the foundation of the Accademia Siciliana, an institution devoted to the protection of the Sicilian language. Fascinated by the French Revolution, in 1795 Di Blasi was arrested and tried. Charged with republican conspiracy, he was executed by decapitation in Palermo, at the "Piano di Santa Teresa", on 20 May 1795.
His matter is told by Leonardo Sciascia's novel The Council of Egypt.

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