Giulia Tofana – Queen of Poison

Giulia Tofana – Queen of Poison

Giulia Tofana was an Italian professional poisoner and the inventor of Aqua Tofana from Palermo lived in early 17th century. She made a good business for over fifty years selling Aqua Tofana with the help of her daughter and other lady helpers mostly widows. She was famous for selling this poison “Aqua Tofana” to the women who wanted to murder their abusive husband. During that period women were forced into arranged marriages and there wasn’t an option to divorce.

Early Life of Giulia Tofana

The information about Giulia’s background is scattered. She was born in 1620 in Palermo and was possibly the daughter of Thofania d’Adamo, who was executed in Palermo on 12 July 1633, for murdering her husband Francis. Tofana was described as beautiful and she spent much of her time in lab in preparing drugs. In the time she prepared her own poison and named it as Aqua Tofana.

There are possibilities that her mother Thofania d’Adamo would have made the poison and shared the details of making with her daughter.

Aqua Tofana

She started to sell the poison Aqua Tofana to the women who wanted to escape from their abusive husbands. Her daughter Girolama Spera was also part in this. They slowly expanded their business to Naples & Rome.

Giulia was a good women with low status she mostly sold her her poison Aqua Tofana to the women who were trapped in unhealthy and dangerous marriages. She became famous and known as ‘Friend to troubled wife’ with many referrals her business expanded.

Caught & Death of Giulia Tofana

Tofana’s business caught by the Papal Authorities by a customer, her popularity among protected her and the public helped her to escape the church and granted sanctuary.

There was a rumor spreading rapidly claiming that she has poisoned the water, the went to the church and caught her for questioning.

After some torture, she confessed killing 600 men with he poison in Rome alone between 1633 – 1659. She was executed in Rome (in the Campo de’ Fiori),

Sources: Link 1, Link 2