Evergreen Reads to Empower Your Mind
The Standard Sister
Note no.31
History
March 23, 2026
The Poisoners of the Renaissance
Long before the concept of divorce even existed, 17th-century Italian women found a much more creative way out of an unhappy marriage. This is the story of a brilliant woman who turned a lethal poison into a branded cosmetic, providing hundreds of women with the perfect escape.
The Love Potion, Evelyn De Morgan, 1903
The word arsenic is derived from the Greek word arsenikon, which originates from arsenikos, meaning male or masculine. This etymological context takes on an absurd twist when looking back at Rome in July 1659. In the Campo de' Fiori (Field of Flowers), under the rule of Pope Alexander VII, five women, led by Gironima Spana, were hanged after being sentenced to death in the "Spana trial." They were convicted of murder and trafficking the poison "Aqua Tofana," a lethal concoction that claimed the lives of over 600 men. In early 17th-century Italy, in a world where the concept of "divorce" was entirely absent from the social and legal lexicon, the only way out of an unhappy marriage was through widowhood. One of the familiar figures in this Palermo scene was Thofania d'Adamo. She concocted a deadly poison based on arsenic, lead, and belladonna (known today as atropine), a toxic plant used at the time in medicine for anesthesia and severe pain relief, but also in cosmetics. A single drop of the plant's extract directly into the eye dilated the pupils, creating the appearance of large, dark, seductive eyes, which was considered the ultimate ideal of beauty at the time. Thofania, who poisoned her own husband to death, was executed in 1633 on charges of murder and poison trafficking. For centuries, history mistakenly assumed that the woman who turned this poison into an empire, Giulia Tofana, was Thofania's biological daughter who fled to Rome with the "family recipe" after her mother was hanged. However, historian Craig A. Monson reveals the truth behind the myth in his book, The Black Widows of the Eternal City: Giulia’s real surname was Mangiardi, and she had left Sicily almost a full decade before Thofania's execution. Giulia Mangiardi did indeed operate in that same Palermo environment. She was married to Niccolò
Spano, an incredibly wealthy businessman, and was the stepmother to his daughter from a previous marriage, Gironima. When Niccolò died suddenly under circumstances deemed "natural" at the time, leaving a vast fortune to his widow and stepdaughter, Giulia realized it was time to turn over a new leaf. In 1624, armed with her knowledge of apothecary, she fled to Rome along with her new husband, real estate investor Cesare Ranchetti, and Gironima, who was then only nine years old. In Rome, a bustling city overflowing with miserable women of all classes desperate to regain control over their lives, Giulia identified the gap in the market and turned it into a lucrative business opportunity. In what would today be considered a brilliant marketing move, she took the poison recipe and branded it under the name "Aqua Tofana" (Water of Tofana). The poison, which initially appeared as a powder, took on a new form as a liquid that could be dripped into a drink or meal without arousing any suspicion. Colorless, odorless, and
tasteless, it was the ideal solution for women seeking to free themselves from abusive husbands, forced marriages, or to secure their inheritances. The poison's effect was gradual: one drop caused symptoms of a mild cold or flu; three drops led to severe stomach pains, a burning sensation in the throat, and dehydration; and four drops were lethal. The slow agony of the victims served the clients perfectly; it gave the husband ample time to finalize his will and settle inheritance matters. Moreover, in a devoutly Catholic world, men on their deathbeds rushed to use their final days to confess all their sins to a priest, ensuring their place in heaven. The women, for their part, found great satisfaction in watching their husbands die while repenting. One of the most crucial decisions Giulia made was to package the poison in small glass vials bearing the portrait of Saint Nicholas of Bari, under the label "Manna of St. Nicholas." According to Catholic tradition, this was a miraculous healing liquid secreted from the saint's bones, sold to pilgrims as a remedy. The poison-filled vials looked like a cosmetic product or holy water, completely deflecting any suspicion from the authorities and allowing women to keep them out in the open. Before dying peacefully in her bed in 1651, Giulia had woven a clandestine and ever-expanding network of female dealers, including her stepdaughter Gironima. Years later, when Gironima's name was linked to the brand of poison she continued to brew (also known as "Aqua Spana"), a lingering doubt arose: did Niccolò Spano truly die of natural causes, or was he himself a victim of Aqua Tofana? Gironima was an intelligent, respectable woman who found her place
Manna of St. Nicholas, French engraving, late 19th century
Deadly Nightshade, Walter Crane
in the high-society salons of Rome. She inherited the business and opened the doors of the aristocracy to it. She used monikers like "The Prophetess" or "The Seeing Fortune Teller," providing entertainment and advice alongside selling the poison to noblewomen hoping to get rid of their husbands. Ironically, Gironima herself, who had been forced into marriage at the age of fourteen to a profligate speculator and serial adulterer who ruined her family's finances, chose not to poison him. She separated from him de facto; records show the two stopped living together in 1640, and in 1655, he fled Rome with creditors hot on his heels. In January 1659, Giovanna De Grandis, one of the main distributors and Gironima's partner, was caught red-handed and sent to the notorious Tor di Nona prison. There, she was tortured until she broke down and gave up the names of her accomplices. Gironima Spana was arrested immediately, but through long months of torture and confrontations with her clients, she refused to confess. Only in June of that year did she finally break, providing a detailed confession: "I gave this liquid to more people than there are hairs on my head." On July 5, 1659, Gironima Spana, along with Giovanna De Grandis, Maria Spinola, Graziosa Farina, and Laura Crispolti, were hanged in the Campo de' Fiori. The Spana trial, which lasted until 1660, exposed the depths of class hypocrisy: a slew of aristocratic clients were spared the death penalty and public exposure, out of fear that it would shake the social and political foundations of Rome. Other defendants from lower classes paid the ultimate price. Cecilia Verzellina, for example, was the only client in the entire affair to pay with her life and go to the gallows (she was hanged in March 1660), while her daughter and other defendants, including the maidservants of noblewomen who served as scapegoats, were whipped and humiliated in a walk of shame through the streets of Rome before being sent into exile. The Pope ordered all trial papers to be archived and locked away behind bars. Historical estimates conclude that between the years 1633 and 1659, over 600 men met their deaths from "Aqua Tofana" poisoning. The sensational figure of Giulia Tofana earned literary immortality in Bulgakov's masterpiece, The Master and Margarita, appearing as the guest "Signora Tofana" at Satan's Grand Ball. And yet, despite her lethal legacy and dramatic impact on the history of Rome, not a single portrait of her remains in the pages of history to this day.