Menocchio The Heretic -

: The 2018 movie Menocchio the Heretic focuses on his refusal to betray his principles.

Despite his humble station, Menocchio was literate and read widely—from the Bible to Boccaccio’s Decameron and Mandeville’s Travels . He developed a unique, almost sci-fi theory about creation that he shared openly with his neighbors: Menocchio the Heretic

: He believed the universe began as a chaotic mass (like milk), and as it "curdled," the first beings—angels and even God—emerged from it like worms appearing in cheese. : The 2018 movie Menocchio the Heretic focuses

: Accused of heresy, Menocchio was initially friendly but stubborn in his defense. He claimed his ideas were merely skepticism, not denial. He was imprisoned for nearly two years and eventually forced to abjure (renounce) his views. : Accused of heresy, Menocchio was initially friendly

The story of , born Domenico Scandella (1532–1599), is one of the most famous "microhistories" from the Italian Reformation. A self-educated miller from the small village of Montereale Valcellina, Menocchio was famously tried twice by the Roman Inquisition for his strikingly original and "heretical" views on the cosmos.

: He was vocal about the Church’s wealth and its use of Latin in courts, which he felt was a tool to keep the poor in the dark. The Trials

: Carlo Ginzburg’s The Cheese and the Worms remains the definitive scholarly account of his life and trial. Menocchio: The Heretic Who Declared God a Worm