Giulia Tofana was named the most successful serial killer in history when she was able to hide her crimes for 50 years. On the day of her verdict, she confessed that she helped kill more than 600 men across Italy.
After the Renaissance was a period when women did not have much financial, social or political power. Women at this time were often seen as “property” in exchange by arranging marriages for the benefit of the family. They will all be subject to the family’s marriage arrangement without being consulted.
Because it is a loveless and slanderous marriage, many women have to endure an unhappy life. There are abusive husbands who abuse their wives or force them to have children constantly, making women miserable and even in danger of life.
Giulia Tofana – the most famous female murderer of the 17th century, contributed to the murder of more than 600 Italian men.
At that time, divorce was also not acceptable and women were not protected by law. Falling into extreme circumstances, the women have only one way out of a bad marriage is to kill their husbands and become widows.
It is from that that makes Giulia Tofana the most famous “female killer” in history. According to Wizzely, not much is known about Giulia’s background. It is known that she was born in Palermo, Italy, has a beautiful appearance.
Giulia Tofana is a cosmetics seller in Italy, but maybe that’s just a cover for making and selling a poison called Aqua Tofana – a poison containing enough arsenic to kill people without leaving a trace.
Aqua Tofana can kill a man with just four drops. The toxin will gradually seep into the body over a few days or weeks to avoid suspicion. It is completely colorless, odorless, tasteless so it can be easily put in a glass of wine or any other drink without being detected. Aqua Tofana’s formula is a mixture of arsenic, lead and belladonna, all of which are deadly toxic.
However, Tofana’s intelligence lies not only in making this deadly poison, but also in the way she endangers them, easily blinding anyone. During the past 50 years, Giulia has successfully concealed the government about her illegal activities and helped many women kill their husbands. Aqua Tofana is hidden in the form of a popular cosmetic for women or a healing oil, so no husband has the slightest suspicion.
Giulia’s Aqua Tofana poison is a mixture of arsenic, lead and belladonna, all of which are deadly toxic. (Illustration).
First, Giulia disguised Aqua Tofana in the form of makeup. Women can put poisoned makeup powders right on their vanity next to other lotions and perfumes without raising suspicion. Giulia’s second camouflage is even more ingenious. She sold Aqua Tofana as a healing ointment for religious people.
Many people speculated that this mysterious poison was not really invented by Giulia, most likely it was a secret passed down by her mother. According to some accounts, Giulia was the daughter of Thofania d’Adamo, who was executed in Palermo, Sicily in 1633 after being accused of murdering her husband. It is possible that Thofania used this poison to kill her husband and pass on the secret to her daughter.
Giulia’s daughter, Girolama Spera, known as Astra della Lungara, was also involved in the making and selling of potions. She was also executed along with her mother in 1659.
Giulia’s secret of the killer potion would probably never have been discovered if it weren’t for a bowl of soup. In the 1650s, one of Giulia Tofana’s customers purchased the poison Aqua Tofana. This female customer then put poison in her husband’s soup but suddenly felt regret and stopped her husband from eating the soup.
The husband, seeing his wife’s strange behavior, became suspicious, forced her to tell the truth, and handed her over to the Papal authorities in Rome. Finally, the wife confessed and pointed out that Giulia was the one who sold her the poison.
Giulia sold poison in the form of cosmetics and ointments to sisters who wanted a divorce so that they could poison their husbands’ wine or food. (Illustration)
Giulia soon heard that she was about to be arrested, so she quickly took refuge in a church. But then news of her poisoning men all over Italy spread, so she was arrested and handed over to the authorities. Eventually, Giulia confessed that she had helped kill more than 600 men between 1633 and 1651. In July 1659, Giulia Tofana was executed along with her daughter and three employees.
Some of Giulia’s clients were also punished, some executed, some locked in prison. Some customers try to cover up by saying that their Aqua Tofana is simply for beauty purposes. Despite being a serial killer, in the eyes of many women, Giulia Tofana is still a respectable person. Without her, they would be the ones who died at the hands of abusive, brutal husbands.
Some Renaissance cosmetics contained toxic ingredients such as arsenic, belladonna, and cochineal. Belladonna is popular because it dilates the pupils, in keeping with Renaissance beauty standards. But along with dilated pupils, it can cause blindness or death.
Or like mercury highlighter . This special powder has the ability to make the skin sparkle and catch the light as well as cover imperfections extremely well. However, its scary side is its serious harm to health: It causes blindness, dementia and, most seriously, death.
In the 1980s, arsenic was also revered by women as a wonderful skin-whitening cosmetic. Therefore, they often apply arsenic to the skin to combine whitening – acne treatment 2 in 1.