CARLETTI, TERENZIO. - Prelate and magistrate, born in Pesaro on 24 Sept. 1807, died in Rome on 19 Dec. 1896. He held the offices of rapporteur of the S. Congregazione del Buon Governo, apostolic delegate in Orvieto, Camerino, and Rieti, and rapporteur at the Tribunal of the S. Consulta.
The not inconsiderable part he played in complex trials for lèse-majesté against reformers, often guilty of atrocious blood crimes out of partisan spirit, cast C.’s figure in an unfavourable light among contemporary and later liberal historians. But the many accusations and various recriminations collapse in the light of modern research, when due account is taken of the usages, customs, state of mind of the milieu, and notable examples from every age and place. Even the death penalty imposed on the unfortunate Giuseppe Monti and Gaetano Tognetti appeared, even to the unimpeachable Ruggero Bonghi, fully justified by the very juridical gravity of the futile and barbarous attempt committed, which, moreover, cut short the lives of several unarmed soldiers and some innocent civilians.