Beatrice Cenci ( , ; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her own father. She killed him, and was tried for murder. Despite outpourings of public sympathy, Cenci was beheaded in 1599 after a murder trial in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

that gave rise to an enduring legend.

Life

Beatrice was the daughter of Ersilia Santacroce and Count Francesco Cenci, a "man of great wealth but dissolute habits and violent temper". When Beatrice was seven years old, in June 1584, her mother died. After her mother's death, Beatrice and her elder sister Antonina were sent to a small monastery, Santa Croce a Montecitorio for Franciscan Tertiary nuns in the rione Colonna of Rome. Beatrice Cenci Front by Hosmer

The family lived in Rome at the Palazzo Cenci in the rione Regola. The members of the extended family living together included Count Francesco's second wife, Lucrezia Petroni; Beatrice's elder brother, Giacomo; and Bernardo, Francesco's son from his second marriage. They also possessed a castle, ''La Rocca'' of

Petrella Salto Petrella Salto () is a (municipality) in the Province of Rieti, in the Italian region of Latium. It is located about northeast of Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy ...

, a small village in the

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

mountains northeast of Rome. According to legend, Francesco Cenci abused his first wife Ersilia Santa Croce and his sons and repeatedly raped Beatrice. He was jailed for other crimes, but was freed early because of his noble status. Beatrice tried to inform the authorities about his abusive behaviour, but no effective action was taken. When he found out that his daughter had reported him, he sent Beatrice and Lucrezia away from Rome to live in the family's castle at La Petrella del Salto. The four Cencis decided they had no alternative but to try to get rid of Count Francesco, and together organized a plot. In 1598, during one of Francesco's stays at the castle, two

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

(one of whom had become Beatrice's secret lover) helped them to drug him. Beatrice, her siblings, and their stepmother then bludgeoned Francesco to death with a hammer and threw the body off a balcony to make it look like an accident. Esame della Lavandaja LCCN2014645172

Eventually, his absence was noticed, and the papal police investigated. Beatrice's lover was tortured and died without revealing the truth. Meanwhile, a family friend who was aware of the murder ordered the killing of the second vassal to avoid any risk. Nonetheless, the plot was discovered, and the four members of the Cenci family were arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The investigation into Francesco Cenci's death revealed key details, such as the involvement of Marzio Floriani and Olimpio Calvetti, and the initial attempt to stage the murder as an accident. This led to intense judicial scrutiny, including the torture and forced confessions of the accused under Pope Clement VIII's directive, highlighting the era's harsh judicial practices. Knowing the reasons for the murder, the common people of Rome protested against the tribunal's decision, obtaining a short postponement of the execution. Pope

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

, however, fearing a spate of familial murders (the Countess of Santa Croce had recently been murdered by her son for financial gain), showed no mercy. At dawn on 11 September 1599, they were taken to Sant'Angelo Bridge, where the

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...

was usually built. In the cart to the scaffold, Giacomo was subjected to continual torture. On reaching the scaffold, his head was smashed with a mallet. His corpse was then quartered. The public spectacle continued with the executions of Lucrezia and then Beatrice. Each took her turn on the block to be

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

with a small axe. Only the 12-year-old Bernardo was spared, but he was led to the scaffold and forced to witness the execution of his relatives before returning to prison and having his properties confiscated (to be given to the Pope's own family). It was decreed that Bernardo should then become a

galley slave A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a Convict, convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar (''French language, French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, sometimes a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. ...

for the remainder of his life. However, he was released a year later. Beatrice was buried in the church of

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

The legend

Beatrice has become a symbol to the people of Rome of resistance against the arrogant

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

. It is related that every year on the night before the anniversary of her death, she comes back to the Sant'Angelo Bridge where she was executed, carrying her severed head.

Influence on literature and the arts

Beatrice Cenci has been the subject of a number of literary and musical works: *

Philip Massinger Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His plays, including '' A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', '' The City Madam'', and '' The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and soci ...

's play '' The Unnatural Combat'' (c.1619) contains specific echoes of the case and antedates the Romantic revival of Beatrice by 200 years *

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

's verse drama '' The Cenci: A Tragedy in Five Acts'' (composed at Rome and at Villa Valsovano near

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, May–5 August 1819, published spring 1820 by C. & J. Ollier, London, 1819) * "Les Cenci", a short story by

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...

(1837) * ''Béatrix Cenci'', a verse drama (1839), by Polish poet,

Juliusz Słowacki Juliusz Słowacki (; ; ; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the " Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. Hi ...

* ''Beatrice Cenci'', a novel by

Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (12 August 1804 – 25 September 1873) was an Italian writer and politician involved in the Italian Risorgimento. Biography Guerrazzi was born in the seaport of Livorno, then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He s ...

(1854) *"Beatrice Cenci (In a City Shop-Window)" (1871), a poem by Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt, American poet * ''Béatrix Cenci'', by

Astolphe de Custine Astolphe-Louis-Léonor, Marquis de Custine (18 March 1790 – 25 September 1857) was a French aristocrat and writer who is best known for his travel writing, in particular his account of his visit to Russia, '' La Russie en 1839''. This work ...

* ''Nemesis'', tragedy by

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

* ''Beatrice Cenci'', a play by

Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

(1958), trans. Angus Davidson (1965)) * ''Beatriz Cenci'', a verse drama by

Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823 – November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he ...

* ''

Beatrix Cenci ''Beatrix Cenci'' is an opera in two acts by Alberto Ginastera to a Spanish libretto by the composer and William Shand, based on the historical family of Beatrice Cenci, the ''Chroniques italiennes'' by Stendhal, and ''The Cenci'' by Percy Shelley ...

'', opera by

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

, based on the Shelley play * ''Beatrice Cenci'', opera by

Berthold Goldschmidt Berthold Goldschmidt (18 January 190317 October 1996) was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many modernist critics elsewhere dismissed hi ...

, based on the Shelley play * ''Les Cenci'' (1935), play by

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

, adaptation of the Shelley play * ''The Cenci'', essay by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

in Volume 1 of ''Celebrated Crimes'' (1840) * ''Legende und Wahrheit der Beatrice Cenci'' (1926) by

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

* ''The Cenci'' (1951–52), an opera by

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

(abridged from Shelley's play) * '' The Cenci Family'' (2004), a

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

Lizzie Hopley Lizzie Hopley is a British actress and writer born in Liverpool who trained at Manchester University and RADA. Acting work Hopley's notable film and TV work include the forthcoming feature film ''Fackham Hall'', co-written by Jimmy Carr and ...

directed by

Lu Kemp Lu Kemp is a theatre director and dramaturge. She trained on the Laboratory of Movement course at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Paris, and with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company in New York. In March 2016, she was appointed Art ...

* ''Beatrice Cenci'' (2006), musical drama by Alessandro Londei and Brunella Caronti * ''Béatrice Cenci : Telle une fleur coupée'', a novel by Jean Rocchi, editor Esmeralda (10 May 2004) * "Finis the Cenci" (1954), a 17-line poem by

F. R. Scott Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonw ...

in ''Events and Signals''; also in his ''Selected Poems'' (1966) and ''Collected Poems'' (1981) * ''A Tale for Midnight'' (1955), a novel by

Frederic Prokosch Frederic Prokosch (May 17, 1906 – June 2, 1989) was an American writer, known for his novels, poetry, memoirs and criticism. He was also a distinguished translator. Biography Prokosch was born in Madison, Wisconsin, into an intellectual family ...

* the Canadian opera '' Beatrice Chancy'', written by

George Elliott Clarke George Elliott Clarke (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate in 2016-2017. Clarke's work addresse ...

and

James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series, ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-off projects include review ...

(and inspired by the Shelley play), transplants the story to nineteenth-century

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. * '' 11 settembre 1599, A Beatrice Cenci '', a piece in poetic prose by Sabrina Gatti (Italian writer), in ''Il trono dei poveri'' (2020) * The "

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

" "

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

" audio drama Theatre of Cruelty, part of the Ninth Doctor box set Buried Threats, starring "

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...

" (2024) is set around the story of Beatrice Cenci. Statues, paintings, and photography also provide numerous portraits and homages to Beatice Cenci: The Italian painter

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

witnessed Beatrice's public execution and may have used it as inspiration for the decapitation scene in his painting ''

Judith Beheading Holofernes The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance art, Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautifu ...

''. A statue by American sculptor Harriet Goodhue Hosmer entitled ''Beatrice Cenci'' (1857) is on display at the Mercantile Library on the University of Missouri–St. Louis campus in St. Louis, Missouri. The early

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...

posed her model, May Prinsep, as Beatrice in an 1866 albumen print portrait among a series she devoted to Beatrice Cenci. The possible

portrait of Beatrice Cenci The ''Portrait of Beatrice Cenci'' is a painting once attributed to the Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni but now to Ginevra Cantofoli. It is housed in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica of Palazzo Barberini, Rome. The painting dealt with a co ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

painter

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

(1575–1642) and the legend surrounding Beatrice figure prominently in

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

's ''

The Marble Faun ''The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni'', also known by the British title ''Transformation'', was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. ''The Marble Faun'', written on the eve of the Ame ...

'' (1860). The book's two principal female characters, Hilda and Miriam, debate the nature and extent of Beatrice's guilt. Hilda believes Beatrice's act to be an "inexpiable crime" but Miriam believes it was "no sin at all, but the best possible virtue in the circumstances". Hawthorne draws many similarities between Miriam and Beatrice, and the reader must decide whether Miriam is an avenger or a culprit. In

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

's short story
The Bride of Lindorf
(1836), the main character has an emotional attachment to the painting of Beatrice Cenci. The Reni painting and the story of Beatrice figure in the plot of

Liza Marklund Eva Elisabeth "Liza" Marklund (born 9 September 1962) is a Swedish journalist and crime writer. Her novels, of which most feature the fictional newspaper journalist Annika Bengtzon, have been published in forty languages. Marklund is the co-own ...

's novel ''Last Will'' (2006). The painting also figures in Book 26 of

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

's novel ''

Pierre; or, The Ambiguities ''Pierre; or, The Ambiguities'' is the seventh book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in New York in 1852. The novel, which uses many conventions of Gothic fiction, develops the psychological, sexual, and family tensions betwe ...

'' (1852).

Films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

have been inspired by the life of Beatrice Cenci also: In David Lynch's film '' Mulholland Dr.'' (2001), Reni's painting is shown hanging in the Hollywood apartment of Ruth Elms as a reference to Cenci. The 1969 Italian film ''

Beatrice Cenci Beatrice Cenci ( , ; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her own father. She killed him, and was tried for murder. Despite outpourings of public sympathy, Cenci was beheaded in 1599 ...

'', directed by

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including Commedia all'italiana, comedies and spagh ...

starring

Adrienne La Russa Adrienne La Russa (born May 15, 1948) is an American retired actress known for her role as Brooke Hamilton on ''Days of Our Lives'', which she played from 1975 to 1977. Her film career included roles in ''The Black Sheep (1968 film), The Black S ...

in the title role, follows the historical events of her life very closely. Fulci claimed it was one of his favorite works, though he was better known for his gruesome horror films. It was also distributed under the title ''The Conspiracy of Torture''. The character played by

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place'' and gained further recogn ...

in the film ''

Secret Ceremony ''Secret Ceremony'' is a 1968 British psychological horror thriller film directed by Joseph Losey and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum. Based on the Argentine novel ''Ceremonia secreta'' by Marco Denevi, the film follows ...

'' is named Cenci, in reference to the Beatrice legend.

Gallery of portraits

File:Guido Reni 051 detail.jpg, Guido Reni - Martyrium des Hl. Andreas. 1608.

San Gregorio al Celio San Gregorio Magno al Celio, also known as San Gregorio al Celio or simply San Gregorio, is a Catholic church in Rome, Italy, part of a monastery of the Camaldolese branch of the Benedictine Order. San Gregorio is located on the Caelian Hill, i ...

, Rome. File:Cenci-ireland.png, Henry Brocas Senior - Portrait of Beatrice Cenci (pastel and pencil on paper), between ca. 1782 and 1837.

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

. File:Cenci-enamel.png, Anonymous - Portrait of Beatrice Cenci (enamel on metal), 1842.

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London. File:Murray-cenci.png, Hal Mansfield Murray - 'Alma Murray as Beatrice Cenci in 'The Cenci' by Percy Bysshe Shelley' (oil on canvas), 1887.

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

PBS Antiques Roadshow 2019 appraisal of a portrait
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cenci, Beatrice 1577 births 1599 deaths 16th-century Italian nobility 16th-century Italian women Nobility from Rome People executed for murder Italian female murderers 16th-century executions by Italian states Executed Italian women People executed by the Papal States by decapitation Italian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Italy Patricides Criminals from Rome Noblewomen of the Papal States