CAPEROLANS, a congregation of religious in
Italy, so called from Peter Caperole their founder, in
the 15th century.
The Milanese and Venetians being at war, the en-
mity occasioned thereby spread itself to the very clois-
ters. The superiors of the province of Milan, of mi-
nor brothers, which extended itself as far as the ter-
ritories of the republic of Venice, carried it so haugh-
tily over the Venetians, that those of the convent of
Brescia resolved to shake off a yoke which was grown
insupportable to them. The superiors, informed of
this, expelled out of the province those whom they
considered as the authors of this design; the principal
of whom were Peter Caperole, Matthew de Tharville,
and Bonaventure of Brescia. Peter Caperole, a man
of an enterprising genius, found means to separate the
convents of Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona, from the
province of Milan, and subject them to the conventuals.
This occasioned a law-suit between the vicar-general
and these convents, which was determined in favour of
the latter; and these convents, in 1475, by the authority
of Pope Sixtus IV. were erected into a distinct vicariate,
under the title of that of Brescia. This not satisfying
the ambition of Caperole, he obtained, by the interposition
of the doge of Venice, that this vicariate might be erected into a
congregation, which was called from him Caperolans.
This congregation still subsists in Italy, and is com-
posed of 24 convents, situated in Brescia, Bergamo,
and Cremona.