Pietro Donato Paleologo Mastrogiovanni was born on 5 March 1931. In addition to maintaining his pretensions, he worked as a
psychiatrist at the
Salerno Health Department and also ran his own private practice. His immediate ancestors also worked in the medical industry; his father was a doctor in Italy's African colonies and his grandfather was a
pharmacist. The name "Mastrogiovanni" was said to have originated from John's descendants adopting it in his honor. This supposed family history mainly derives from oral tradition, with few documents supporting it. None of the documents have been authenticated and there are several issues with the overall reconstruction of events and descent. Modern researchers overwhelmingly dismiss the existence of Rogerio as fantasy. Among the most damning evidence is Rogerio's clearly Italian (rather than Greek) first name, the unlikelihood of a potential imperial heir being kept as hostage in Italy and that there are no mentions of him in Byzantine records. The contemporary Byzantine historian
George Sphrantzes, who described the life of Thomas Palaiologos in detail, wrote on the birth of Thomas' son
Andreas Palaiologos on 17 January 1453 that the boy was "a continuator and heir" of the Palaiologan lineage, a phrase which makes little sense if Andreas was not Thomas' first-born son. Giovanni Angelo, self-styled as "Giovanni XIII Paleologo" or "Giovanni Angelo XIII Paleologo Mastrogiovanni". Giovanni Angelo heads the "Union of Byzantine Aristocracy", a group which also includes other Byzantine princes, such as Maria Eugenia Láscaris, a granddaughter of the Spanish Byzantine forger-pretender
Eugenio Lascorz. == References ==