I recently learned about giulia tofana, a 17th century poisoner. she is believed to have provided the means for the death of over 600 men between 1633 - 1659. her infamous poison, named aqua tofana after her, was comprised of mostly arsenic & lead & was sold disguised first as makeup & then as devotional holy oil in honour of st. nicola of bari. after being turned in to papal authorities by a remorseful customer, she was executed alongside her daughter & three assistants in july 1659.
virtually nothing is known about her life prior to the mid-1600’s, when she appeared in southern italy as a beautiful widow selling cosmetics. her mother, thofania d’adamo, was executed for the murder of her husband in 1633 & may have passed the aqua tofana recipe down to her daughter. there are no records of giulia’s marriage & no surviving portraits of her.
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ruminating on how I can expand her story. women in history were so much more than housewives embroidering cushions…