Davide Lazzeretti

Davide Lazzaretti (6 November 1834 – 18 August 1878) was an Italian preacher.

Biography
Davide Lazzeretti was born near Arcidosso, a small town in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany. Lazzaretti's early life is characterized by being the town drunk and working as a wagoner. In 1860, Lazzaretti participated in nine months of military service, working with Garibaldi in a military campaign opposing the Church State Army.

In 1868 Lazzaretti had his self-proclaimed prophetic meeting with the Virgin Mary. This led him to live the life of a hermit, modeled after the life of St Francis. He gained many adherents among the peasants aroung Monte Amiato and Monte Labbro. He began sporting a tattoo of a key, simbolizing St Peter, on his forehead. At Monte Labbro, he gathered a community of followers, about 80 families. He would disappear for weeks at a time, returning with new prophecies and visions. This continued until 1870 when Lazzaretti created three religiously oriented organizations: the Holy League, the Institute of Penitentiary Hermits and Penitents, and the Society of Christian Families. In 1873-1877 he travelled three times to France. He traveled to Rome and attempted to meet with the Pope. He postulated he would become the leader of a Divine Republic consisting of the three Latin people of Spain, France and Italy. On the 18th of August, a few days after the date he predicted the Divine Republic would start, he led a crowd of his followers, dressed in peasant garb to the town, where the local policemen shot him dead.

The David Lazzaretti Study Center in Arcidosso, located in Italy, is named after him