In Ann Radcliffe’s *The Italian*, the evil monk is Father Schedoni.
Schedoni is the novel’s principal antagonist, a sinister confessor connected to the Marchesa di Vivaldi’s efforts to prevent her son Vivaldi from marrying Ellena Rosalba. His severe appearance, secretive past, pride and manipulative authority make him one of Radcliffe’s most memorable Gothic villains.
The character is more complicated than a purely satanic villain. Schedoni was formerly Count di Marinella and carries the burden of serious crimes committed before he entered religious life. His schemes include helping to abduct Ellena and plotting violence against her, although doubts about her identity and his own buried conscience repeatedly unsettle him.
A common mix-up is Matthew Lewis’s Ambrosio, the corrupt monk in *The Monk*. Schedoni belongs to Radcliffe’s *The Italian*, first published in 1796–1797, while Ambrosio belongs to Lewis’s 1796 novel. The name “Father” is also useful: the character is generally identified as Father Schedoni, not simply by a separate monastic title.