Artist Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio (the name of his home town), was not content with simply depicting the grittier side of 16th-century Roman drinking culture in his art. A heavy drinker and a womaniser, he was in the habit of carrying a sword for nights out in Rome, which invariably landed him in trouble. He committed three murders (the first over a disputed score during a game of racquets) and was eventually forced to flee Rome.
However, we should perhaps be grateful for his love of alcohol, as it was during his exile that he produced some of his most dramatic paintings, establishing himself as one of the Baroque period's most important artists. He spent the last four years of his life wandering between Naples, Malta and Sicily, seeking protection from the authorities, and was on his way back to Rome, seeking a pardon, when he contracted malaria and died aged 36.
