Aqua Tofana

Aqua Tofana

Aqua Tofana (also known as Acqua Toffana and Aqua Tufania and "Manna di San Nicola") was a strong poison that was reputedly widely used in Naples and Rome, Italy. During the early 17th century Giulia Tofana, or Tofania, an infamous lady from Palermo, made a good business for over fifty years selling her large production (she employed her daughter and several other lady helpers) of Aqua Tofana to would-be widows. The product was sold to lady clients, accompanied by instructions for its use.[citation needed]

Aqua Tofana (literally meaning "Tofana water") was either the creation of Giulia Tofana or an older recipe that had been refined by Tofana and her daughter, Girolama Spera, around 1650 in Rome. The 'tradename' "Manna di San Nicola", i.e. "Manna of St. Nicholas of Bari" might have been a marketing device intended to divert the authorities, since the poison was openly sold both as a cosmetic and a devotionary object in vials that included a picture of St. Nicholas. Some of her customers claimed to have used it for its advertised purposes and only caused deaths accidentally[citation needed]. Over 600 victims are known to have died from this poison, mostly husbands of unhappy spouses. Tofana was arrested and confessed to producing the poison, and she implicated that a number of her clients knew exactly what they were buying. There was much disquiet throughout Italy[citation needed] and many of her clients fled, while others were strangled in prison, and indeed many were publicly executed. Between 1666 and 1676 the Marchioness de Brinvilliers poisoned her father, two brothers, amongst others, and was executed on July 16, 1676.[1]

The ingredients of the mixture are basically known but not how they were blended. Aqua Tofana contained mostly arsenic and lead and possibly belladonna. It was a colorless, tasteless liquid and so easily mixed with water or wine to be served during meals.

The legend that Mozart (1756—1791) might have been poisoned using Aqua Tofana is completely unsubstantiated.

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'.

External links

References

  1. ^ Dictionary of Dates by Benjamin Vincent, London 1863.
  • 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[1]

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  • aqua-tofana — ⇒AQUA TOFANA, subst. fém. Poison subtil nommé aussi aquette : • ... vous verrez passer par la rue des gens droits, frais et roses dont le diable boiteux, s il vous effleurait de son manteau, pourrait vous dire : « Ce monsieur est empoisonné… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Aqua Tofana — Aqua A qua, n. [L. See {Ewer}.] Water; a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed. [1913 Webster] {Aqua ammoni[ae]}, the aqueous solution of ammonia; liquid ammonia; often …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Aqua Tofāna — (lat.; ital. Acquetta di Napoli oder di Perugia, Acqua della Toffa oder schlechtweg Acquetta genannt), berüchtigter, schon in Gaben von wenigen Tropfen tödlicher Gifttrank, der zwar langsam wirkte, aber das erwählte Opfer stets sicher hinwürgte,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • aqua Tofana — /tō fäˈnə/ noun A secret poison (probably arsenical) made by a 17c Sicilian woman Tofana • • • Main Entry: ↑aqua …   Useful english dictionary

  • Aqua Tofana — Aqua Tofāna, Acquetta di Napoli, von der Gräfin Tofa in Neapel im 17. Jahrh. zu verbrecherischen Zwecken bereiteter Gifttrank ungewisser Zusammensetzung …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Aqua tofana — Aqua tofana. Ein problematisches Gift. Die Eigenschaften, welche man ihm beilegte, sind so wunderbar und übertrieben gewesen, daß man gezweifelt hat, ob es jemals ein solches Gift gab. Eine Sicilianerin Donna Tosano soll dessen Erfinderin gewesen …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • Aqua Tofana — Das Gift Aqua Tofana ist unter den verschiedensten Namen bekannt. So in Deutschland als Aqua Toffana , Acqua Toffana oder Aqua Tufania . In Italien trug es auch den Namen: Acqua di Napoli . Die Franzosen kennen es unter dem Namen eau de… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Aqua tofana — …   Википедия

  • Aqua — A qua, n. [L. See {Ewer}.] Water; a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed. [1913 Webster] {Aqua ammoni[ae]}, the aqueous solution of ammonia; liquid ammonia; often… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aqua ammonia — Aqua A qua, n. [L. See {Ewer}.] Water; a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed. [1913 Webster] {Aqua ammoni[ae]}, the aqueous solution of ammonia; liquid ammonia; often …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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