The man’s death was truly gruesome
The most notorious of the early tyrants may have deserved karmic justice with a “seventh circle of hell” death however, it was not the widely hated ruler who met this gruesome fate – it was his brother.
One of Rome’s most violent leaders, Ezzelino III da Romano, was an Italian statesman during the 13th century and was the appointed lordship of several Italian provinces by Fredrick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
This was during a time when Italian politics were dominated by the split between those who wanted the Emperor to dominate North Italian politics, the Ghibellines, and those who wanted the Pope to retain overall control, the Guelphs.
Ezzelino slotted himself into the Ghibelline faction and imposed a violent tyranny over his subjects. As a result his people developed a deep, unwavering hatred for him.
The Guelphs would eventually win in their quest to have him removed from power and Ezzelino died in prison from his injuries after being defeated by Guelph forces. However, some would say the tyrant got off lightly with his brother, Alberico da Romano bearing the brunt of the punishment for his brother’s butal rule.
Alberico, after the death of his brother, tried to surrender to the Guelphs in order to save his family but they threw him in chains and made him watch as they chopped his young sons apart.
He was then forced to standby as the women in his family were stripped naked and forced to walk naked through the streets before being burned alive. One Reddit user posted saying the man “was actually in the 7th layer of hell in Dante’s inferno”.
If this wasn’t revenge enough Aberico was then tortured with scalding hot irons before his wounded body, on the brink of death, was dragged through the streets by horse.
Jimcomelately described the gory death: “Ezzelino was so unpopular with the locals that Alberico, after the death of his brother, tried to surrender himself to the Guelphs in order to save his family but they threw him in chains and made him watch as they chopped his young sons apart.
“His female relatives were stripped naked and forced to walk naked through the streets before being burned alive. And after all this he was tortured with hot irons and dragged through the streets by a horse.”
