Zaccaria Innocenti was an ancient Roman warlock who lived during the 1st century AD.[1] He misused the Tarantallegra spell in 79 AD to "conjur[e] a 'dance' within Mt. Vesuvius".[1] The volcano had a major eruption that year, which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing at least 1500 people.[2] It is unknown whether Innocenti somehow triggered this disaster by casting Tarantallegra on Mount Vesuvius itself, or if he cast it on himself, then foolishly proceeded to dance around inside the volcano's crater. It is also unknown whether he was one of the eruption's casualties.
Etymology
"Zaccaria" is the Italian form of Zechariah,[3] a Hebrew name meaning "God remembers",[4] while Innocenti is an Italian surname that derives from the Italian word for "innocent" (innocente).[5] Neither is consistent with the naming conventions of ancient Rome.
