Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (24 April 1719, Turin, Piedmont – 5 May 1789, London) was an Italian literary critic, poet, writer, translator, linguist and author of two influential language-translation dictionaries.

Baretti was intended by his father for the profession of law, but at the age of sixteen fled from Turin and went to Guastalla, where he was for some time employed in a mercantile house.

Baretti was a frequent visitor at the home of Hester Thrale, and his name occurs repeatedly in Boswell's Life.

The Lettere famigliari, giving an account of his travels through England, Portugal, Spain, and France during the years 1761–1765, were well received, and when afterwards published in English (4 vols., 1770),[4] were highly commended by Johnson.

Baretti was an enemy of the English Hispanist John Bowle,[5] and published a scathing and personal attack on him: Tolondron.

The words of the recantation attributed to Galileo, "eppur si muove" (meaning "nevertheless it moves"), were first set down by Baretti in his Italian Library.

On 6 October 1769, Baretti was involved in a scuffle at the Haymarket, an area which was notorious as a place of prostitution and frequented by footpads, with many coffeehouses and shops.

This was not the case of ordinary poor people, who normally had to suffer much worse and primitive treatments, being pushed into an overcrowded cell, without much provision.

The court asked if Baretti had been insulted, she firstly denied, then seemed to be unsure, and added at the end that maybe somebody called him bad names, but she did not know who.

He told the court he was with the other two men that evening, they had been drinking together and then decided to go to Golden Square, but when they were in the Haymarket they saw a gentleman, meaning Baretti, striking Elisabeth Ward.

Patman said he was pushed against Baretti, who gave him a stab wound: "I received a blow from him directly on my left side: the blood ran down into my shoe".

These were ordinary men whose job was to prevent crime and to arrest people suspected of felony by taking them to a justice of the peace.

John Llyod and Robert Lelcock were two patients who were in Middlesex hospital that night and they were told the story by Morgan, the victim.

After having heard different versions of the facts of the prosecution testimonies, the court let Baretti defend himself and he took the chance to read a text he had previously prepared and written in his defence.

He had spent his day at home working, correcting his Italian and English dictionary and then after 4 pm he went to the club of the Royal Academicians in Soho and he went on explaining his other movements, up until he got to the Haymarket.

He said he was passing near there when he saw a woman, who firstly asked him for a glass of wine and then clapped his hand on his genitals with violence, hurting him very much.

[11] Therefore, he stroke her hand and the woman insulted him for being a foreigner, he said "she called me several bad names [...] among which French bugger, d-ed Frenchman, and a woman-hater, were the most audible".

Having concluded his own account of the facts, Baretti turned to the jury saying "I hope your Lordship, and every person present, will think that a man of my age, character and way of life, would not spontaneously quit my pen, to engage in an outrageous insult."

In this way he concluded his speech, showing he trusted England's law system and with the confidence that he would have been acquitted, as he believed he had the right to.

The first to talk were Mr. Peter Molini and Mr. Low, who said they saw themselves the night following the scuffle the bruises on Baretti's body, on his back, shoulders, cheek and jaw.

Sir Joshua Reynolds said he was a man with great humanity and "very active in endeavouring his friends", he outlined his sober disposition, saying that he never drank more than three glasses with him and he added: "I never heard of his being in passions or quarrelling".

[11] This trial is reported in Hitchcock and Shoemaker's book Tales from the Hanging Court as an example of how important were testimonies of friends and neighbours, who could assert the good character of the accused.

These testimonies could influence a lot the perception of the accused person and also affect the jury's verdict and their choice of punishment.

Baretti was extremely satisfied with the outcome of the trial, in particular with the kind demonstration of affection he received from his friends, so much that he felt himself even more connected with England than before, a country which had given him justice and real friendship.