ANTONIO da GRADISCA. - Capuchin missionary, born at Gradisca in 1663, of the barons Zucchelli. He entered the convent of Gradisca and set out as a missionary from Genoa (1697), arriving a year later in Brazil and then at Loanda, capital of the kingdom of Angola. In that city, A. was detained by a serious illness; once recovered, he obtained permission to go on mission to the province of Sogno, an area populated by natives (whom he calls Ethiopians) given over to concubinage, sorcery and idolatry, which persisted even after baptism. He also attempted to work in the neighboring kingdom of Angoy, where he fought, often with success, the slave trade carried on by English merchants. With his health gravely undermined, he returned to Loanda, and then to his homeland, where he died on 13 July 1716.
His fame rests on the book in which he describes his missionary activity: Relazioni del viaggio e Missioni di Congo nell'Etiopia inferiore occidentale (1710). It offers a very rich repertory, albeit little sifted, of historical, geographical and political information about the regions known to the author, especially in the Congo. It was also translated into German.
Epilberto Martire