Marcello Papiniano Cusani

Marcello Papiniano Cusani (17 February 1690 - October 1766) was an Italian archbishop, professor of both civil law and canon law ( and diritto canonico, also entrambi i diritti) as well as founder and rector of the University of Altamura.

Life Early years Marcello Papiniano Cusani was born in Frasso Telesino on February 17, 1690 to Antonio Cusani and Antonietta Rainone. Notable family members included Biagio Cusani, poet and professor of law in Naples and Gennaro Cusani (uncle of Marcello) who was also professor of law.

At that time, Marcello was influenced by the ideas of his uncle (who was both against the Jesuits and the Spanish rule) and by the Neapolitan cultural environment of that period. In 1709, influenced by the Congregazione dei padri pii operai and their leader father Torres (an enlightened clergyman), Marcello decided to start an ecclesiastical career. On 10 June 1713 he became a priest.

The founding of the University of Altamura In 1746, Cusani was appointed archpriest of Altamura Cathedral where he carried out reforms in the spirit of the so-called giannonism (based on the ideas of Pietro Giannone), aimed at affirming the king's privileges over those of the clergy. He developed works of reform of the clergy and had the idea of establishing a university of studies in the city, using the revenues of the so-called Monte a Moltiplico.

Funding for the project had begun in 1640, to turn the arciprelatura nullius of Altamura into a bishopric. Cusani's idea was to use the savings of Monte a Moltiplico in order to establish a university and guarantee a public and royal education. The idea pleased the then king of Naples, Charles III of Spain, who was interested in limiting the dominance of the Church in the education of the youths.

In Palermo, unlike Altamura, Cusani enjoyed greater power, by virtue of his office as archbishop, and this made the reforms he adopted more incisive, aimed at asserting the supremacy of the sovereign over feudal local power. Moreover, from a purely cultural point of view, he reformed juridical and philosophical studies in order to reduce the dominance of the Jesuits and, in addition, he contributed to spread the ideas of John Locke. His remains were buried in the Church of Santa Maria della Verità.

His uncle, Gennaro Cusano, was a lawyer and professor of canon law. On 18 July 1703, he was assigned the chair of professor of Sacri canoni matutina. He also taught many notable people of that period, among which Giacomo Castelli.

Offices Sostituto del digesto vecchio in Studio di Napoli (1720-1723?) Professor of civil law and canon law in Naples (1723-1724) Prince of Accademia delle Scienze e delle Arti President and General Captain of the Kingdom of Sicily Domestic prelate of pope Benedict XIV Assistant bishop of Soglio pontificio and of the Council of S.R.M. Apostolic general commissioner of Tribunale della Santissima Crociata of the Kingdom of Sicily and its adjacent islands

Works Marcello Papiniano Cusani didn't publish any of his works. Through some research in Italian archives and libraries, a few manuscripts were discovered. All of them are related to his university lectures. Institutiones Iuris Ecclesiastici (work in two volumes, one in Naples and one in Palermo); Institutiones Iuris Ecclesiastici (work in four volumes which date back to his period in Altamura and stored in Bari in Biblioteca provinciale "G. De Gemmis"); Institutiones Iuris Ecclesiastici (two works respectively in three and four volumes, both of which stored in Archivio Biblioteca Museo Civico, Altamura).