The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 2 – Historical Background 65
for one Mason to comment on the Masonic membership, or otherwise,
of another. 161
The examination of foreign Masonic visitors by Italian Masonic officers is
strict. When visiting Italian lodge meetings, foreign Masonic travelers have to
present appropriate Masonic credentials, such as a Letter of Introduction from
their own Grand Lodge or lodge, or a dues card. As to the ritualistic practice,
under the Grand Orient of Italy, most lodges use the Scottish Rite Craft ritual. As
is quite common in Europe, progress through the three degrees is slow. The
candidates are required to present lectures and undergo an extensive Masonic
examination prior to advancement. 162
Tracing the historical development of Italian Masonry is difficult since its
early history is hearsay or traditional. Presumably, the first lodge was established
at Florence by Lord Sackville in 1733, but it cannot be said by which Masonic
authority he acted. 163 In the following years other lodges were established in
Leghorn, Pisa, Siena, Perugia, and Rome (1735). Italy is a solidly Catholic
country, and already in 1738 Pope Clement XII issued a Bull against
Freemasonry. This edict was supplemented by the Edict of 1739 which forbade
Freemasonry anywhere in the Papal States on pain of death. The lodge at Rome
was closed in 1737. Nevertheless, a few new lodges were constituted in Milan,
Verona, Turin, Padua, and Venice. In 1739, a book attributed to the Chevalier
Andrew Michael Ramsay was burned by the Papal Executioner at Rome. The
first National Grand Lodge, "Zelo," was founded in 1764 at Naples, where four
lodges existed, about as many as in other Italian cities. However, this Grand
Lodge expired in 1783 in consequence to royal opposition.
In 1783, the Grand Orient of France erected a Grand Orient in Italy. As will
be remembered, the Grand Orient is a Masonic institution not recognized by
"mainstream" Masonry because it does not require a belief in a Supreme Being.
Several other lodges and Grand Lodges, such as a Grand Lodge of the Kingdom
of Sardinia, were founded and many of them closed shortly hereafter. In 1805,
France introduced the Scottish Rite into Italy, and in 1908, a Supreme Council
was formed. In 1809, there exited two Grand Orients in Italy, one the "Grand
Orient of Italy," and another one at Naples. By 1861, there were three Grand
Orients, namely at Naples, Turin, and Palermo. The last was headed by the
Italian patriot Giuseppi Garibaldi. In 1867, Garibaldi called a meeting of all
lodges in Italy, and the result was that several Grand Bodies united.
It is interesting to observe the reactions of international lodges towards the
evident suppression of Italian Freemasonry under the Pope. The following
quotation stems from an American reader of the Masonic Review from the year
1866. He, a common man and typical Christian American Mason, of course
loathes the Grand Orient who does not believe in God, and therefore thinks the
Italian Grand Orient not worthy of international and fraternal support against the
161 Henderson and Pope, vol. II, p. 219.
162 Cf. ibid, p. 220.
163 For the history of Italian Masonry, cf. CME, p. 334/335.