Cornelia Zangari Bandi (20 July 1664 – 15 March 1731) was an Italian noblewoman, generally known for the circumstances surrounding her mysterious death, which is frequently described as a possible case of

spontaneous human combustion Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the pseudoscientific concept of the spontaneous combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition on the body. In addition to reported cases, descripti ...

Biography

Family

Cornelia Zangari was born in

Longiano Longiano () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Forlì. Longiano borders the following municipalities: Borghi, Cesena, G ...

(

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, to Count Francesco Maria Zangari and his wife Margherita. She married Count Francesco Bandi, who by his marriage to Colomba Leonardelli had Giovanni Carlo (future Cardinal of the Catholic Church), Maria Colomba, Margherita Felice, Giuseppe, Anna Teresa, Elisabetta and Anna Margherita. Anna Teresa married Marco Aurelio Tommaso Braschi, Count of Falcino, giving birth in 1717 to Giovanni Angelo, future

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

(1775 – 1799).

Death

According to the 1745 issue by the correspondent Paul Rolli (who translated, for the ''

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'', a 1731 study by the

Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * Veronese (moth), ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, ...

historian

Giuseppe Bianchini Giuseppe Bianchini (1704 in Verona – 1764 in Rome) was an Italian Oratorian, biblical, historical, and liturgical scholar. Clement XII and Benedict XIV, who highly appreciated his learning, entrusted him with several scientific labors. Bian ...

: ''Parere Sopra la Cagione della Morte della Signora Contessa Cornelia Zangari Ne' Bandi Cesenate'' (''Opinion on cause of death of Lady Countess Cornelia Zangari''), during her last dinner, the 66 year-old countess was "dull and heavy". Some accounts report that she was a

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

drinker, and that she used to sprinkle

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

ated brandy on her body to relieve physical pain. The maid accompanied her to her room, and the two spent over three hours chatting and praying. The maid left her mistress already asleep. The next day, when she did not get up at the usual time, she went to wake her and found the remains of the countess. The room was full of soot. The body of the countess had been reduced to a pile of ashes that was a little more than from the bed, although her lower legs below the knee, three fingers and front of her skull were relatively intact. The bed and the rest of the furniture had not been affected by the fire, but were covered by a greasy and smelly layer. On the floor there was an oil lamp covered with ashes, but without oil. The way the sheets were found seemed to indicate that the countess had risen at some point during the night. The full account by Paul Rolli:

In popular culture

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, in his preface to his novel ''

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...

'' (1852/1853), writes about the Countess (whom he misnames Countess Cornelia de Baudi Cesenate) with regard to the "possibility of what is called spontaneous combustion."

Gallery

File:Giovanni Carlo Bandi.jpg, Giovanni Carlo, artist unknown File:Popepiusvi.jpg,

, by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

(1775)

References