Set in a tiny mountain village in 16th century Italy, during the height of the Roman Catholic Inquisition, this is the true story of a hilarious heretic named Menocchio -- an eccentric miller who was one of the few commoners outside the Church who could read. And as he devoured his favorite books, his fertile imagination grew inflamed with loony yet enlightened ideas about Man, God, and Creation which he obsessively shared with everyone he met.
Whether warning fellow villagers about corruption in the clergy -- or asserting his wacky belief that the universe was made of cheese, from which came God and his angels disguised as worms -- Menocchio couldn’t keep his mouth shut. With the Inquisition in full force, this was a huge problem. And the problem only grew worse when his widespread popularity made him mayor of his village. The all-powerful priests went to great lengths to silence Menocchio. But this was not a man to go down quietly.
And therein lies his tale.
Whether warning fellow villagers about corruption in the clergy -- or asserting his wacky belief that the universe was made of cheese, from which came God and his angels disguised as worms -- Menocchio couldn’t keep his mouth shut. With the Inquisition in full force, this was a huge problem. And the problem only grew worse when his widespread popularity made him mayor of his village. The all-powerful priests went to great lengths to silence Menocchio. But this was not a man to go down quietly.
And therein lies his tale.
