Giulia Tofana

Giulia Tofana (or Toffana), was an Italian high class courtier and professional poisoner. She was famous for selling poison to women who wanted to murder their husbands. She was the inventor of the famous poison Aqua Tofana, which is named after her.

Biography

The information about her background is small. She was possibly the daughter of Thofania d'Adamo, who was executed in Palermo 12 July 1633 accused of having murdered her husband Francis. Tofana was described as beautiful, and she spent a lot of time with apothecary, was present when they made their potions, and eventually developed her own posion, Aqua Tofana. She begun to sell this poison to women who wanted to become widows. Her daughter, Girolama Spera, was also active in this. She eventually mowed her business to Naples and Rome.

Giulia was sympathetic to the low status of women and most often sold her poison to women trapped in difficult marriages. She became known as a friend to the troubled wife and received many referrals. Some of her customers purchased with intent and knowledge of the poison; others used it for its advertised purposes and only "accidentally" caused "unintended" deaths.

Toffana's business was finally revealed to the Papal authorities by a customer; however she was so popular that the locals protected her from apprehension. She escaped to a church, where she was granted sanctuary. When a rapid rumour, claiming that she had poisoned the water, tore through Rome, the police forced their way into the church and dragged Toffana in for questioning.

Death

Under torture, she confessed to killing 600 people with her poisons, but this cannot be confirmed owing to the torture and the widespread distribution of the poison. She was ultimately executed in Rome (in the Campo dei Fiori), together with her daughter (Girolama Spera, known as 'Astrologa della Lungara') and three helpers, in July of 1659. After her death, her body was thrown over the wall of the church that had provided her with sanctuary. Some of the users and purveyors were also arrested and executed, while other accomplices were bricked into the dungeons of the Palazzo Pucci.

There are incorrect references to her purported execution in Naples in 1719. The legend that Mozart might have been poisoned using Acqua Toffana is completely unsubstantiated.

La Spara

Tofana is in many sources confused with Hieronyma Spara, "La Spara", a woman with a similar profession in Italy about the same time. Probably this is another name of the 'astroliga della Lungara'.

See also

* Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin
* Giovanna Bonanno

References

* Stuart, David C. Dangerous Garden. Frances Lincoln ltd, 2004.
* The most reliable source for the story of Toffana is "Vita di Alessandro VII" by Cardinal Pallavicini [http://digilander.libero.it/fgiovannini/avvelenatrici]