The post-Renaissance period was a time when women did not enjoy much influence in the financial, social or political spheres. They were expected to marry. The families usually considered their daughter's marriage to be their property - they argued for them marriages that were beneficial to the whole family, often without asking for the opinion of the bride in question. Girls and women were considered the property, first of their fathers and then of their husbands.

At that time, there was no possibility of divorce or any other legal protection for a woman if her husband mistreated her, abused her, kept her in poverty or even forced her into prostitution or endangered her life by constantly having children. The only way a woman could break free from a bad marriage was widowhood. This situation allowed Giulia Tofana to become probably the greatest killer in history. According to Wizzely's server, we don't know much about Giulia's life.

Giulia Tofana was probably the greatest killer in history

She was born in Palermo, Italy, and was said to be very beautiful, like her mother, although none of her portraits have been preserved. According to the History of Mystery, she was probably the daughter of Thofanie d´Adamo, who was executed in 1633 for killing her husband. Giulia is known to have been a professional turf who helped unhappy women get rid of their husbands. In 1659, when she was executed, she was reportedly responsible for the deaths of more than 600 men.

Giulia created a poison she called Aqua Tofana. Its exact composition is not known, but it is known to have contained arsenic, vinyllis and lead; ingredients that have also been used in contemporary cosmetics. Lead and arsenic were common ingredients in skin powders to brighten the skin, and a drop of ruler was applied to each eye by women to widen the pupils and add shine to the eyes. However, all of these substances are highly toxic if swallowed.

The mixture had no odor, smell or taste, which made it very difficult for unfortunate women to mix it into the food or drink of an evil husband.

Everything was revealed

She performed her craft secretly for decades. Aqua Tofana has been sold for almost 50 years, disguised as cosmetic powder or in bottles as a devotional item called “Manna St. Nicholas of Bari ". Giulia's daughter joined her mother's business, which she continued in silence even after moving from Palermo to Naples and then to Rome. Everything was revealed when one of the clients changed her mind at the last minute. Although she dripped a few drops of the substance into the soup, she stopped him from eating before her husband began to eat it.

Colosseum in Rome

The man became suspicious and demanded an explanation. His wife did not confess until they took her to the papacy and tortured her. Even after his wife's confession, Giulia was not arrested immediately. Most of her customers were very grateful for her services and did not want her captured. One version of what happened is that she has already retired and lived on her country farm, which gave her the time she needed to escape.

Was Giulia executed?

Her daughter and employees were executed for their complicity, and a little later Giulia was eventually found and executed. Another version, which is more often considered to be true, is that Giulia still lived in Rome, where she received a warning. She therefore fled to a nearby church, where she was granted asylum. Shortly afterwards, rumors began to spread in Rome that she had poisoned the local water. Then crowds of people began to attack the church. Giulia was dragged out to the place where she was handed over to a tribunal, which, after cruel torture, obtained her confession. She confessed to the responsibility for the deaths of more than 600 men in just 18 years between 1633 and 1651. In this version of the story, she, her daughter and three of their employees were executed in 1659 in Campo de´Fiori. Her body was thrown back behind the wall of the church, which provided her with refuge.

Giulia Tofana also had other accomplices, but they were not revealed. Poison was a common weapon in Italy at the time and was not only used by unhappy wives, although they were major customers. During the torture, Giulia revealed the names of people who helped her or were her customers. Some of those named were able to escape, but many were captured and executed or imprisoned. The most influential and richest of them were quietly killed in prison to alleviate a possible scandal; the others were either hanged or imprisoned in the dungeon of Palazzo Pucci.

It may be good that there is already a possibility of divorce nowadays.

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