26.11.2018The Man Who Crucified Himself. Readings of a Medical Case in Nineteenth-Century Europe by Maria Böhmer (Book Release)

The Man Who Crucified Himself is the history of a sensational nineteenth- century medical case. In 1805 a shoemaker called Mattio Lovat attempted to crucify himself in Venice. His act raised a furore, and the story spread acrossEurope. For the rest of the century Lovat’s case fuelled scientific and populardebates on medicine, madness, suicide and religion. Drawing on Italian, German, English and French sources, Maria Böhmer traces the multiple readings of the case and identifies various 'interpretive communities'. Hermeticulously researched study sheds new light on Lovat’s case and offersfresh insights on the case narrative as a genre - both epistemic and literary.

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