Caravaggio: Documents Reveal Mysteries of His Last Journey

On the anniversary of the death of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, on July 18, 1610, historical news has emerged regarding the painter's final journey and the true circumstances of his passing. The discovery was made by historian Silvano Vinceti, already renowned for his research on the Lombard genius, who recently unearthed documents and testimonies that rewrite some long-held beliefs.

Until now, it was believed that Caravaggio landed on Feniglia beach, near Orbetello, during his final journey to Rome to obtain a pardon from Pope Paul V. However, according to Vinceti, "the painter did not disembark there, but rather at the lesser-known Croce beach, located southwest of the Spanish Fortress in Porto Ercole," he told Adnkronos. "That isolated and hidden area was the only one that allowed him to avoid capture by the Spanish soldiers guarding the port," Vinceti states. "The location is located directly beneath the fortress's imposing walls, protected by cliffs and far from the gaze of patrols."

Historian and researcher Silvano Vinceti later rediscovered a letter dated July 29, 1610, signed by Deodato Gentile, papal delegate in Naples, and addressed to Scipione Borghese, head of justice during Caravaggio's escape. The letter states that the felucca (a small, fast boat) brought Caravaggio's "properties" back to Naples, including only three paintings. Gentile writes: "I immediately had the paintings checked, and I find that none are still in existence, except for three, those of Saint John and the Magdalene." This detail, according to Vinceti, sheds new light on the mystery of the works the painter took with him. Not five or six as has been speculated, but only three: two depictions of Saint John and a Magdalene. The paintings were returned to Costanza Colonna, the painter's marquise and protector, at her residence in Chiaia, where Caravaggio had departed.

But perhaps the most significant development concerns the cause of death. An analysis conducted on the remains attributed to Caravaggio—found in Porto Ercole and studied by an international team of scholars from the University of Bologna and other Italian and European institutions—has provided definitive results. "We can conclude," write researchers Michel Drancourt, Rémi Barbieri, Elisabetta Cilli, Giorgio Gruppioni, and others, "that the man died of sepsis caused by Staphylococcus aureus, likely following a superinfection of wounds sustained during an argument in Naples." This hypothesis is supported by the presence of a bone affected by osteomyelitis, a typical complication of sepsis.

The image that emerges, Vinceti emphasizes, is that of a Caravaggio weakened by illness, hunted by the law, and reduced to a solitary fugitive. "Not the cursed romantic of nineteenth-century biographies, but a wounded man, desperately seeking forgiveness and salvation, with only three paintings on board and a body consumed by untreated infections."

Silvano Vinceti is the author of several books: "The Caravaggio Enigma. Scientific Hypotheses on the Painter's Death" (with Giorgio Gruppioni, Armando Editore, 2010), "The Caravaggio Mystery. A Dissolute Life, a Mysterious Death, a Missing Body" (Rizzoli, 2010), "Caravaggio. The Cradle of the Great Painter. A Research into the Artist's Youth" (with Giorgio Gruppioni). Armando Editore, 2010), and "Porto Ercole. Caravaggio's Last Home" (with Giorgio Gruppioni and Antonio Moretti, Armando Editore, 2010).