Cantarella was a poison allegedly used by the

Borgias The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

during the papacy of Pope Alexander VI. It may have been identical with

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

, sprinkled on food or in wine, in the shape of "a white powder with a pleasant taste". If it did exist, it left no trace in the works of contemporary writers.

References

Arsenic House of Borgia Poisons {{Italy-hist-stub