ABSTRACT
In the dead of night, they pulled the priest off his horse and knocked him onto the ground. Thus fallen and dominated, they hurt him over and over again … injuring first and foremost his private parts, smashing his testicles. They knew that this torture was excruciating. The neighbors heard his moaning and came to his aid, carrying him to the church grounds in a deplorable state. News of the sacrilegious aggression drew the people together in fear. The episode above refers to the death of a clergyman in a region of Italian settlement in southern Brazil. During the period he was experiencing intense pain and unable to make any movements, Father Antonio Sorio dictated his own last will and testament, yet was unable to sign the document. Microhistorical method seeks analysis of the interdependence of the diverse social, cultural and economic aspects that make up a particular reality and the fields of action of individuals within it.
