Tofana of Palermo (
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Tofana of Palermo (or perhaps Teofania di Adamo): (d.1730). Poisoner. A native of Palermo, she was a member of the dreaded clandestine society known as the Secret Poisoners. While in Palermo, she trained other women in the art poisoning, including Hieronyma Spara, who later established a faction of the society in Rome. Tofara later moved the base of her movement to Naples. She created a unique liquid poison, known as Aqua della Tofana, which she sold in small glass phials inscribed with the words “Manna of St. Nicholas of Bari” and decorated with an image of that saint. Despite her long career, she managed to remain free from arrest until she had reached an advanced age. When she learned that the authorities were seeking her, she took refuge in a monastery. When discovered she was arrested and tortured. She finally confessed to having provided poison for at least 600 murders. Her Aqua della Tofana was a highly concentrated form of arsenic, virtually undetectable in the small dose it needed to be fatal.