Giulia Tofana (also spelled Toffana, Tophana) (died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 1651) was an Italian professional poisoner. She sold a poison called

Aqua Tofana Aqua Tofana (also known as Acqua Toffana and Aqua Tufania and Manna di San Nicola) was a strong poison created in Sicily around 1630 that was reputedly widely used in Palermo, Naples, Perugia, and Rome, Italy. It has been associated with Giulia T ...

(supposedly invented by Thofania di Adamo, who may have been Giulia's mother) to women who wanted to murder their husbands.Philip Wexler, Toxicology in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Elsevier Science – 2017, pages 63–64

Biography

Information about Giulia Tofana's background is sparse. She was thought to have been born in Palermo. Speculation by historians that she may have taken the first name of her mother as her last name (a common practice at the time) led them to believe that she was the daughter of another Palermo poisoner, Thofania d'Adamo. Thofania d'Adamo was accused of poisoning with an arsenic concoction of her own invention, Aqua Tofana, and executed on 12 July 1633.Mike Dash, "Aqua Tofana: Slow-Poisoning and Husband-Killing in 17th Century Italy.
25 April 2021.
/ref> According to one version of events, Giulia Tofana fled to

and set up a poisoning ring that began to sell this poison to women who wanted to escape abusive or inconvenient spouses. There may have been 6 women in this poisoning ring active in the 1650s, including Girolama Spara, who took over after Giulia's death. Tofana's involvement in all of this is not confirmed. The only recorded evidence of poisoning activities being the executions of Teofania di Adamo in 1633, and Girolama Spara in 1659 (claimed to be the daughter of Giulia Tofana).

Death

Historians point to Giulia Tofana dying in her sleep in 1651 with no one aware of her poisoning activities. Confusion of her activities with other poisoners active in the area have led to tales that she died in 1659, or 1709, or 1730 with further elaboration that she took sanctuary in a convent, and continued to manufacture and distribute poison for many years until she was found out, executed, and her body thrown over the wall of the church that had provided her with sanctuary.

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 Francesco Maria Sforza Pallavicino (or ''Pallavicini'') (28 November 1607, Rome – 4 June 1667, Rome), was an Italian cardinal, philosopher, theologian, literary theorist, and church historian. A professor of philosophy and theology at the Rom ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tofana, Giulia 1651 deaths 17th-century Italian criminals 17th-century Italian businesswomen Italian female serial killers Poisoners Year of birth unknown Female organized crime figures Businesspeople in manufacturing Weapons trade

Biography

Death

See also

References