Franco de Franco (circa 1585 in Corulani – June 30, 1611 in Vilnius) was an Italian Calvinist who was sentenced to death in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on religious grounds. He is one of the victims of the religious intolerance in this country, besides e.g. Katarzyna Weiglowa, and Iwan Tyszkiewicz. Early life and conversion to Calvinism Franco originated from western Friuli which belonged to the Venetian Republic; he spent his childhood and youth there. He came to Poland with his father who became administrator of the Wieliczka domain. Later he worked as civil servant at the Wieliczka Salt Mine under supervision of his paternal uncle Pietro de Franco. Because his paternal uncle was a devout Catholic, probably only after his death in 1603 Franco approached Protestants in Krakow. He adopted Calvinism and became its ardent supporter. In order to promote this faith amongst his countrymen, he returned to Italy. However, he was soon arrested by the Inquisition in Brescia. After 9 months he managed to escape from the prison. He reached the German Lutheran countries, and on 10 September 1605 enrolled (as Francus Franchi Italus) in the Wittenberg University. He earned his living by teaching the Italian language and dances. Frankfurt on the Oder was also a place of his studies. In May 1608, he moved to Dresden, where was arrested for unknown reasons. Then he left for Leipzig, where he made acquaintance with Samuel Piątkowicz, a Calvinist student from Vilnius. This relationship caused Franco's return to Poland, and he settled in Vilnius. He commenced the missionary action amongst the local Italian colony there. Vilnius events and trial On 2 June 1611 (then Catholics celebrated the Corpus Christi), Franco attended the religious service in the Vilnius Calvinist church, during which minister Andrzej Chrząstowski sharply criticised Catholic religious ceremonies as idolatry. Then Franco spoke to the Corpus Christi procession: You poor blind, you are making the enormous idolatry, when you worship the wafer and you are praising it […] Give the glory back to God who is in heaven, and stop the idolatry, neither don't bestow the divine glory on terrestrial things! Franco was attacked and beaten by the crowd. The royal preacher Piotr Skarga and the papal nuncio Simonetta participated in the procession, and witnessed Franco's action. Franco was imprisoned. Samuel Piątkowicz became Franco's solicitor. During his trial Franco urged the bishop "to stop deceiving people, and ordering to bow before