Born about 1270 in Bologna (although the place is not certain), he studied in his native city with
Franciscus Accursius and
Dinus de Rossonis. He was a professor of
Canon law at the
University of Bologna, where he began teaching with only a
Bachelor's degree. In late 1297 and early 1298 he became politically close to
Charles II of Naples, king of Sicily and Naples and count of Provence, a supporter of the
Guelphs and Ghibellines. He obtained his doctorate in Aix-en-Provence (where he resided for some time) from the hands of the chancellor of the
University of Naples Federico II and in the presence of Charles II, according to what Belvisi himself wrote in the proem of his most important work, Practica criminalis. Banished from Bologna for political reasons, he taught in Naples (1298 to 1302-1303),
University of Padua (1306-1307),
University of Siena(around 1307-1308),
University of Perugia (1316 to 1324), finally returning to Bologna in 1321 to remain there as a lecturer.He died in his hometown in January 1335. His fame is linked to the
Criminal law treatise Practica criminalis, published in
Lyon in 1515, although in the past some have questioned the authorship of this work. == Works ==