Beatrice Cenci

Beatrice Cenci (Italian: [beaˈtritʃe ˈtʃentʃi]; 6 February 1577 – 11 September 1599) was an Italian noblewoman. She is famous as the protagonist in events leading to a lurid murder trial in Rome that gave rise to an enduring legend about her.

Beatrice was the daughter of an aristocrat, Francesco Cenci, who, due to his violent temper and immoral behaviour, found himself in trouble with papal justice more than once. The family lived in Rome at the Palazzo Cenci in the rione Regola, which was built over the ruins of a medieval fortified palace at the edge of Rome's Jewish ghetto. The members of the extended family living together included Beatrice's elder brother, Giacomo, Francesco's second wife, Lucrezia Petroni, and Bernardo, Francesco's son from his second marriage. A castle also was among their possessions, La Rocca of Petrella Salto, a small village near Rieti, northeast of Rome.

According to historical details leading to the legend, Francesco Cenci abused his first wife Ersilia Santa Croce and his sons and raped Beatrice multiple times thus being guilty of incest. He was jailed for other crimes, but due to the leniency with which the nobles were treated, he was freed early. Beatrice tried to inform the authorities about the frequent mistreatments, but nothing happened although everybody in Rome knew what kind of person her father was. When he found out that his daughter had reported him, he sent Beatrice and Lucrezia away from Rome to live in the family's country castle at La Petrella del Salto in the Abruzzi mountains.

The four Cencis decided they had no alternative but to try to get rid of Francesco, and together organised a plot. In 1598, during one of Francesco's stays at the castle, two vassals (one of whom had become Beatrice's secret lover) helped them to drug him, but this failed to kill Francesco. Following this Beatrice, her siblings, and their stepmother bludgeoned Francesco to death with a hammer and threw the body off a balcony to make it look like an accident. No one believed the death to be accidental, however.

Eventually his absence was noticed and the papal police tried to find out what happened. Beatrice's lover was tortured and died without revealing the truth. Meanwhile, a family friend who was aware of the murder ordered the killing of the second vassal to avoid any risk. Nonetheless, the plot was discovered and the four members of the Cenci family were arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The common people of Rome, knowing the reasons for the murder, protested against the tribunal's decision, obtaining a short postponement of the execution. Pope Clement VIII, fearing a spate of familial murders (the Countess of Santa Croce had recently been murdered by her son for financial gain), however, showed no mercy.

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