Exili (17th century) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

chemist and poisoner. His real name was probably Nicolò Egidi. Few authentic details of his life exist. Tradition, however, credits him with having been originally the salaried poisoner at Rome of Olympia Maidalchina, the sister-in-law of

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

. Subsequently, he became a gentleman in waiting to Queen Christina of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, whose taste for chemistry may have influenced this appointment. In 1663 his presence in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

aroused the suspicions of the French government, and he was imprisoned in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

. Here he is said to have made the acquaintance of

Godin de Sainte-Croix The Affair of the Poisons (, ) was a major murder scandal in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. Between 1677 and 1682, a number of prominent members of the aristocracy were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcr ...

, the lover of the marquise de Brinvilliers. After three months of imprisonment, powerful influences secured Exili's release, and he left France for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1681 he was again in Italy, where he married the countess Fantaguzzi, second cousin of Duke Francesco II of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Notes

References

* People associated with the Affair of the Poisons 17th-century Italian scientists Court of Christina, Queen of Sweden Italian chemists Italian murderers Italian people imprisoned abroad Italian serial killers Poisoners Prisoners of the Bastille Foreign nationals imprisoned in France Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century chemists {{Italy-scientist-stub