Story The Mysteries of Tofana water

[Marco77]

A few months before his death, Mozart confided to his wife his suspicion that he had been poisoned with tofana water. The episode is interesting because it shows how this poison was still in vogue almost two centuries after it had seen the light, by a singular woman, Giulia Tofana, a prostitute and sorceress from the slums of Palermo. Orphan and very poor, Giulia had an exuberant beauty and a fervent inventiveness. Accustomed to carnal dealings even with members of the clergy, it was thanks to her close friendship with an apothecary friar that she managed to stock up on the "powders" necessary to develop her mixture. Although illiterate and devoid of any education, the young woman boasted a practical intelligence and a strong propensity for experiments, qualities that allowed her, after a few attempts, to obtain the formula for the perfect poison, the one that killed slowly, without attracting attention. , leaving the dead man's complexion rosy. No smell. No flavour, therefore, in that mixture of arsenic and antimony, but only one warning: the administration to the chosen victim had to take place a little each day, through a precise number of drops poured into the wine or soup.


There have been many people who committed suicide with this method which did not seem like suicide but a natural death.

 

[CantDoIt]

Interesting. However upon reading the description on Wikipedia, it seems unpleasant.

"The first small dosage would produce cold-like symptoms. The victim was very ill by the third dose; symptoms included vomiting, dehydration, diarrhea, and a burning sensation in the digestive system. The fourth dose would kill the victim."

In addition, it says there was no knowledge of how the blend was mixed....I guess dose 3 seems similar to a stomach flu.

 

[oneeyed]

I was reading about it a bit as well. I think it's mainly the arsenic that does the deed. Lead and belladonna was also thought to be added but if this had no smell it taste, the concentration of the last two ingredients is questionable.