Martin Lutero e il «vero Antichristo moderno»: profezie antiluterane nelle opere di Anton Francesco Doni

Definitively printed in 1562, the «Dichiaratione sopra il XIII capitolo dell’Apocalisse» is among the least studied Anton Francesco Doni’s works. Overall, the «Dichiaratione» is a religious treatise in which onomancy – a type of prediction based on an alphanumeric calculation – is blended with biblical exegesis. The aim of this essay is to analyse a specific calculation included in the «Dichiaratione», which compares Martin Luther to one of the beasts of the Revelation. According to the year and place of publication of the treatise (Venice, 1562), to the dedicatee of the text (Ippolito Capilupi, ambassador of Pope Pio IV) and to the influences of the reformed and heterodox doctrines on Anton Francesco Doni, this study provides an explanation about the reason why Martin Luther is called, in the «Dichiaratione», the «real Antichrist of the Modern Age».