Pietro Tacchi Venturi

Pietro Tacchi Venturi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛtro ˈtakki venˈturi]; 1861—March 18, 1956) was a Jesuit priest and historian who served as the unofficial liaison between Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943, and popes Pius XI and Pius XII. He was also one of the architects of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, which ended the "Roman Question" (a dispute over the status of the papacy since the Italian unification), and recognized the sovereignty of Vatican City, which made it an actor of international relations. An attempt to assassinate Venturi with a paper knife one year before the treaty's completion made headlines around the world. Venturi had begun the process of reconciliation by convincing Mussolini to donate the valuable library of the Palazzo Chigi to the Vatican.

According to Susan Zuccotti, Venturi "had an uncanny ability to gain access where more official papal diplomats could not" and thus was utilized for some of the most important papal priorities. Venturi had no official rank in the church to match his extraordinary influence, and was known in Vatican circles as the "man in black".

Venturi was born in San Severino Marche. He became a member of the Society of Jesus, a religious order within the Catholic Church, in 1878. He established a reputation as a scholar of history and literature. Venturi was admitted into the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology and other scientific bodies. Venturi was the official historian of the Italian branch of the Jesuit order and the Secretary of the Society of Jesus from 1914 to 1921.

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