{{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 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 ...

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 {{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 ...

was arrested in Rome and imprisoned in the Papal prison at

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 s ...

, which was the beginning of the infamous

, exposing

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 ...

's net work of poison dealers in Rome. In April, Conti was named by

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 ...

, who stated that Conti had bought poison from

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 ...

to murder her husband. Conti was not arrested. Being a member of the upper class, she was interviewed in her own residence. After having been granted immunity from the Pope, she confessed to have murdered her spouse because she believed he had murdered her father. After having signed her statement, Conti was left out of further investigation. Instead, her maid Benedetta Merlini, who had introduced Conti to Laura Crispoldi, was arrested and imprisoned in Tor di Nona, where she was interrogated under torture and testified toward Laura Crispoldi.

References

1639 births 17th-century Italian women People of the Papal States