Melchiore V.

For Bologna it was the proverbial crime of the century. The year is 1789 and a number of unsolved minor thefts and other crimes have led up to a shocking burglary at the city’s beloved charitable pawnbroking institution for the poor, the Monte di Pietà. The police are completely baffled, the citizens are demanding answers, and no one can believe the audacity nor grasp the ingenuity of the crime. This historically accurate account traces the later life of Girolamo Ridolfi, alias Count Girolamo Lucchini, from his days as a gambler and petty thief in Venice to his crime spree in Bologna as a master thief and counterfeiter, and finally to his ultimate fate. Descriptions of 18th-century life and customs in Bologna add a rich backdrop to the story, as Lucchini’s escapades are traced throughout the city. This was a man who could have made his fortune using his extraordinary talents and skills as a master craftsman, but instead, Lucchini chose a life of crime. Yet even as a criminal, he may have succeeded in never paying for his offenses had he not broken one of his own cardinal rules: confide in no one.