A Catholic priest who murdered a rival over a seduction and then systematically killed thirteen members of that man's family, Annunchiarico spent over a decade as a fugitive before assembling a bandit confederation of remarkable scale — tens of thousands strong — and declaring himself the earthly avatar of Jupiter over a self-styled Salentinian Republic. What makes him unusual is not just the body count attributed to his own hand, estimated between sixty and seventy, but the degree of personal authority he commanded over hardened criminals who accepted his theological pretensions without apparent resistance. His capture required a multinational military force, and his execution took 162 others with him.