Juan Silvano Godoi (November 12, 1850 – January 1926) was a librarian and intellectual at the time of the Paraguayan national reconstruction.

Juan Silvano studied in the Jesuit College of the Inmaculate Conception in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina.

Due to his short age and good luck, Francisco Solano López authorized him to continue his education in Argentina.

In January 1869, once Asuncion was occupied, he interrupted his studies to move back to his land with a group of young fellow patriots.

In the chaotic environment of post-war Paraguayan politics, he and his family soon found themselves opposed to powerful people.

In 1878, after a period in Buenos Aires, having fled in the aftermath of the assassination, he bought a ship, the Galileo, and weapons and steamed up the Paraguay River, with the objective of overthrowing Candido Bareiro's government - the movement was ultimately foiled by the Argentine Navy, which impeded the Galileo from moving further towards Asunción.

[1] After the failed revolution, Godoi lived an eighteen year-long exile in Buenos Aires.

His cultural background and education led him to meet most of the leading Argentine intellectuals, like Aristóbulo del Valle, Ramón J. Cárcano, Guido Spano, Mariano Pelliza and others.