Torment of the rope

It was used to obtain the confession, and consisted in tying with a long rope the wrists of the offender behind his back and then hoisting the body by means of a pulleyThe weight of the body came to weigh on the joints of the shoulders.

To exacerbate the effects, the rope was released, causing the suspect to fall, and before he fell to the ground, it was suddenly blocked, causing a tear to the muscles and the sprain - generally irreversible - of the arms at the shoulder joint. shoulder joint..

The treatment could not be applied to children under 14pregnant women up to 40 days after childbirth, lawyers, religious, doctors and dignitaries in general, and even those over 60 years of age. Moreover, it was not possible to torture in the days of worship and not before ten hours had passed since the defendant’s last meal.

From some testimonies it appears that some people subjected to the torment of the rope quasi non provassero dolore, perché erano “allenate” e sapevano come muoversi per evitare la lussazione o slogarsi le spalle con la minor sofferenza possibile.

During the torture the lawyers could not be presentand a scribe had to report all that the offender said: laments, shouts, howls, if he answered, if he was silent or if he begged to be released pleading guilty (but remaining tied to the rope until he finished confessing).

La deposizione resa in tormentis veniva ratificata il giorno successivo, conducendo il reo davanti al giudice.