Giovanna Bonanno (c. 1713 – 30 July 1789) was an alleged Italian

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

and professional

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

er known as ''la vecchia dell'aceto'', "The Old Vinegar Lady."

Life and career

Little is known of Giovanna Bonanno's early life, though she is believed to have been the same woman as Anna Panto, mentioned in 1744 as the wife of one Vincenzo Bonanno. She was a

beggar Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...

Palermo, Sicily Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its hi ...

in the reign of Domenico Caracciolo,

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

(term 1781–1786). During her trial, she confessed to being a poisoner, and that she sold poison to women who wanted to murder their husbands. The typical client was a woman with a lover; she bought the first dose to give her husband stomach pains, the second to get him to

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

, and the third to kill him. The

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was, in these cases, unable to ascertain the cause of the deaths. In the Zisa quarter in Palermo, several suspicious cases had occurred. The wife of a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

, a

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who had wasted his family's fortune, and another baker's wife (who was thought to have had an affair with a gardener) had all become ill.

Trial and execution

One day, a friend of Bonanno's, Maria Pitarra, was delivering a poison when she realized that the victim was to be the son of a friend, and decided to warn the mother. The mother made an order for the poison herself, and when Bonanno arrived, she was arrested. The trial opened in October 1788. Bonanno was accused of sorcery. Some of the apothecaries who were selling her potions were called to testify. The Italian term ''aceto'', that is, "vinegar," was the code-word for Bonnano's poison, a mixture of white wine, arsenic, and vinegar for lice. She referred to it as "arcane vinegar liquor," and an order would be placed for "vinegar." At the time, it was an untraceable poison. She was executed by hanging on 30 July 1789.

References

Notes

Sources

* Salvatore Salomone Marino. Leggende popolari siciliane in poesia. ed. Palermo, 1880. * Luigi Natoli. La vecchia dell'aceto. (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonanno, Giovanna 1710s births 1788 crimes in Europe 1789 deaths 18th-century businesswomen 18th-century executions 18th-century Italian businesspeople Executed Italian people Executed Italian serial killers Executed Italian women Italian female serial killers People executed by Italy by hanging People executed by the Kingdom of Sicily People executed for witchcraft People from Palermo Poisoners Witch trials in Italy