Caravaggio led a tumultuous life. He was notorious for brawling, even in a time and place when such behavior was commonplace,
and the transcripts of his police records and trial proceedings fill many pages.
Bellori claims that around 1590–1592, Caravaggio, already well known for brawling with gangs of young men, committed a murder
which forced him to flee from Milan, first to Venice and then to Rome.
On 28 November 1600, while living at the Palazzo Madama with his patron Cardinal Del Monte, Caravaggio beat nobleman Girolamo
Stampa da Montepulciano, a guest of the cardinal, with a club, resulting in an official complaint to the police. Episodes of brawling,
violence, and tumult grew more and more frequent. Caravaggio was often arrested and jailed at Tor di Nona.
After his release from jail in 1601, Caravaggio returned to paint first The Taking of Christ and then Amor Vincit Omnia. In 1603,
he was arrested again, this time for the defamation of another painter, Giovanni Baglione, who sued Caravaggio and his followers Orazio
Gentileschi and Onorio Longhi for writing offensive poems about him. The French ambassador intervened, and Caravaggio was transferred
to house arrest after a month in jail in Tor di Nona.
Between May and October 1604, Caravaggio was arrested several times for possession of illegal weapons and for insulting the city guards.
He was also sued by a tavern waiter for having thrown a plate of artichokes in his face.
gravest problem began on 29 May 1606.
In 1605, Caravaggio was forced to flee to Genoa for three weeks after seriously injuring Mariano Pasqualone di Accumoli, a notary,
in a dispute over Lena, Caravaggio’s model and lover. Caravaggio’s patrons intervened and managed to cover up the incident.
Upon his return to Rome, Caravaggio was sued by his landlady Prudenzia Bruni for not having paid his rent. Out of spite,
Caravaggio threw rocks through her window at night and was sued again.
In November, Caravaggio was hospitalized for an injury which he claimed he had caused himself by falling on his own sword.
Caravaggio’s gravest problem began on 29 May 1606, when he killed Ranuccio Tommasoni, a gangster from a wealthy family,
in a duel with swords at Campo Marzio. The two had argued many times, often ending in blows. The circumstances are unclear
and the killing may have been unintentional.