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Laura Crispoldi
{{Expand Swedish, Laura Crispoldi, date=February 2022 Laura Crispoldi (died 5 July 1659, Rome) was an Italian poisoner.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was one of the central figures of the infamous Spana Prosecution, one of only six to be executed among over forty people to be implicated. Life Laura Crispoldi was born in Rome. She was recruited to the organization of Gironima Spana, which trafficked in lethal poison. She was a prolific saleswoman, selling the poison provided for her by Giovanna De Grandis. On 31 January 1659, Giovanna De Grandis was arrested and imprisoned in the Papal prison at Tor di Nona, where she made her confession on 1 February, and started to name the names of her accomplices and clients. Her colleague Maria Spinola named Crispoldi as the dealer who sold poison to two women accused of having poisoned their late husbands, Anna Maria Conti and Camilla Capella, and described he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spana Prosecution
The Spana Prosecution was a major criminal case which took place in Rome in the Papal States between January 1659 and March 1660.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' The Papal authorities under the leadership of lieutenant governor Stefano Bracchi investigated a case involving a criminal net of poisoners, mainly women, for selling the famous poison Aqua Tofana to clients who wished to commit murder, in particular women who wished to become widows. The process involved over forty people, including professional poisoners and clients, some of them members of the aristocracy, and resulted in punishment ranging from exile and lifetime house arrest to the execution of five main figures, among them the central figure Gironima Spana. Background In 1624, a woman by the name Giulia Mangiardi (1581-1651) arrived to Rome from Palermo in Sicily. Her proper name was Giulia Mangiardi, but she has traditionally become known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gironima Spana
{{One source, date=February 2022 Gironima Spana (1615-5 July 1659) was an Italian poisoner and astrologer.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was the central figure in the infamous Spana Prosecution against a net of poison merchant women in Rome, who distributed the famous poison Aqua Tofana to clients who wished to commit murder, in particular women who wished to become widows. She was executed alongside four women accomplices for having distributed poison to clients with the intent of murder. She has also been called Girolama Spara, Girolama Spala, L’ Astrologa, La Profetessa and L'Indovina, but Gironima Spana was the spelling she herself used in court documents. Biography Early life and origin Gironima Spana was born in Sicily as the daughter of the wealthy Niccolo Spano, who was provisioning Spanish galleys and overseeing expenditures of Palermo's Ospedale degli Spagnol. She became the stepdaug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanna De Grandis
{{Expand Swedish, Giovanna De Grandis, date=February 2022 Giovanna De Grandis (died 5 July 1659, Rome) was an Italian poisoner.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was one of the central figures of the infamous Spana Prosecution, one of only six to be executed among over forty people to be implicated. Life Giovanna De Grandis was born in Rome. She was working as a laundress when she was recruited to the organization of Gironima Spana, who trafficked in lethal poison. De Grandis was an important member of the Spana organisation: she had direct contact with Spana and was one of the few of Spana's associates whom Spana entrusted the task to not only sell, but also to manufacture poison. She and Spana herself manufactured the poison using arsenic acquired by the priest Don Girolamo, since apothecaries did not sell arsenic to women. De Grandis was arrested in flagrante on 31 January 1659 and imprisoned in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tor Di Nona
The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rione'' '' Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'Annona, a mediaeval tower which once stood there and was later converted into one of the city's most important theatres, the Teatro Tordinona, later called the Teatro Apollo. History Early history The Torre dell'Annona was a medieval stronghold of the Orsini family and from the early 15th century acted as a pontifical prison. Prisoners included Benevenuto Cellini who experienced the dungeon's lightless cells, one of which was known as "the pit", Beatrice Cenci, and Giordano Bruno who was imprisoned here before being burned alive in Campo de' Fiori. In 1659-1660, it was used during the infamous Spana Prosecution.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' Theatre When the New Prison (''Le Carceri Nuove'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Spinola
Maria Spinola (died 5 July 1659, Rome) was an Italian poisoner.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was one of the central figures of the infamous Spana Prosecution, one of only six to be executed among over forty people to be implicated. Life Maria Spinola was born in Palermo. She emigrated from Sicily to Naples and from there to Rome in 1627. She was married four times and lived under limited economical circumstances. In 1650, she became the personal friend of Gironima Spana, and was recruited to her organization in trafficking in lethal poison. She was an important member of the Spana organisation: she had direct contact with Spana, and recruited clients to Spana's business as an astrologer (and her unofficial business as a poison seller). On 31 January 1659, Giovanna De Grandis was arrested and imprisoned in the Papal prison at Tor di Nona, where she made her confession on 1 February, and started to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anna Maria Conti
{{Expand Swedish, Anna Maria Conti, date=February 2022 Anna Maria Conti (born 1639) was an Italian painter's wife.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was one of the people implicated in the infamous Spana Prosecution. Life She was born to the rich merchant Emerick Conti (1611-1657). She married the failed French immigrant painter Simon Imbert (d. 1658). The marriage was described as an unhappy one: her spouse reportedly abused her and she suspected him of having poisoned her father. When she was widowed in 1658, she was rumoured to have poisoned her late spouse. On 31 January 1659, Giovanna De Grandis was arrested in Rome and imprisoned in the Papal prison at Tor di Nona, which was the beginning of the infamous Spana Prosecution, exposing Gironima Spana's net work of poison dealers in Rome. In April, Conti was named by Maria Spinola, who stated that Conti had bought poison from Laura Crispoldi {{Expand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graziosa Farina
{{Expand Swedish, Graziosa Farina, date=February 2022 Graziosa Farina (died 5 July 1659, Rome) was an Italian poisoner.Monson, Craig A.: The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous poisoners' She was one of the central figures of the infamous Spana Prosecution, one of only six to be executed among over forty people to be implicated. Life Graziosa Farina was born in Rome. She was recruited to the organization of Gironima Spana, which trafficked in lethal poison. Similarly to her colleague Laura Crispoldi, Farina was a saleswoman, selling the poison provided for her by Giovanna De Grandis. She does not appear to have had any direct contact with Spana herself. Described as a beggar woman, she recruited clients among the women in the many churches she visited as a beggar. On 31 January 1659, Giovanna De Grandis was arrested and imprisoned in the Papal prison at Tor di Nona, where she made her confession on 1 February, and started to name the names ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campo De' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori (, literally "field of flowers") is a rectangular square south of Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, at the border between rione Parione and rione Regola. It is diagonally southeast of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and one block northeast of the Palazzo Farnese. ''Campo de' Fiori'', translated literally from Italian, means "field of flowers". The name dates to the Middle Ages when the area was a meadow. History In Ancient Rome, the area was unused space between Pompey's Theatre and the flood-prone Tiber. Though the Orsini established themselves on the south flank of the space in the 13th century, until the 15th century, the square remained undeveloped. The first church in the immediate vicinity was built during the pontificate of Boniface IX (1389–1404), Santa Brigida a Campo de' Fiori; with the building-up of the ''rione'', the church has now come to face that part of the former square that is now Piazza Farnese. In 1456, under Pope Callixtus III, Ludovico Cardin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1659 Deaths
Events January–March * January 14 – In the Battle of the Lines of Elvas, fought near the small city of Elvas in Portugal during the Portuguese Restoration War, the Spanish Army under the command of Luis Méndez de Haro suffers heavy casualties, with over 11,000 of its nearly 16,000 soldiers killed, wounded or taken prisoner; the smaller Portuguese force of 10,500 troops, commanded by André de Albuquerque Ribafria (who is killed in the battle) suffers less than 900 casualties. * January 24 – Pierre Corneille's ''Oedipe'' premieres in Paris. * January 27 – The third and final session of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland is opened by Lord Protector Richard Cromwell, with Chaloner Chute as the Speaker of the House of Commons, with 567 members. "Cromwell's Other House", which replaced the House of Lords during the last years of the Protectorate, opens on the same day, with Richard Cromwell as its speaker. * January ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th-century Italian Businesswomen
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French ''Grand Siècle'' dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. The semi-feudal territorial French nobility was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the Palace of Versailles from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be more easily k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th-century Italian Criminals
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French ''Grand Siècle'' dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. The semi-feudal territorial French nobility was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the Palace of Versailles from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be more easil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
