L'ERETICO E I SELVAGGI. CELIO SECONDO CURIONE, LE «AMPLISSIME REGIONI DEL MONDO APPENA SCOPERTO» E L'«AMPIEZZA DEL REGNO DI DIO

This article examines the most theologically engaged work by the Italian humanist and heretic Celio Secondo Curione (1503-1569), De amplitudine beati regni Dei (1554). It pays particular attention to a number of themes which are often taken for granted or overlooked, with the view of emphasising how important they are for his theory of universal salvation based on the law of nature. The religious dispute between the factions of the Reformation was only one of the factors that led Curione to express the radical thesis which made De amplitudine such a scandalous text for Catholics and Protestants alike. Beyond this conflict, in fact, the geographical discoveries, the antiquarian tradition, and the thought of Niccolò Machiavelli all played an important role in the development of Curione's religious positions. The «wide regions of the newfound world» – as he called them – led him to reconsider the problem of the «wideness of God's kingdom». The second part of the paper analyzes some episodes related to the fortunes (or misfortunes) of Curione's work right up to Bayle. On the basis of a detailed account of De amplitudine's reception, this paper seeks to show its diffusion, avoiding the simplistic view of considering Curione as a 'forerunner' of the modern idea of tolerance.